Lady Gaga returned to Saturday Night Live (SNL) as both host and musical guest, where she humorously addressed two major topics: the box office performance of Joker: Folie à Deux and her controversial 2013 collaboration with disgraced singer R. Kelly.
The Grammy-winning artist, who recently released her seventh studio album Mayhem, kicked off the episode with a playful monologue. Dressed in a sparkling silver dress and a feathery shawl, Gaga was met with a warm reception from the live audience.
“I’m so happy to be back at SNL,” she said. “The last time I hosted was in 2013. And every aspect of my performance aged amazingly… because there’s no need to Google SNL 2013 featuring R. Kelly.” The reference was a nod to her 2013 performance with R. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering. The two collaborated on the song Do What U Want.
Gaga also touched on the reception of her latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux, which faced criticism and won two Razzie Awards, including Worst Screen Duo for her and co-star Joaquin Phoenix. She joked, “Apparently, people thought it was awesome. Joaquin and I even got nominated for a Razzie. And we won. But joke’s on them—I love winning things.”
She further joked about her career path, saying, “My Razzie brings me one step closer to an EGORT. It’s like an EGOT [Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony] but… hurtful.”
During the monologue, Gaga also briefly mentioned her engagement to businessman Michael Polansky, revealing that her mother played matchmaker.
Later in the show, she addressed SNL cast member Bowen Yang’s nervousness around her, humorously noting his fan-like energy before he accidentally introduced her musical performance too early.
Ending her monologue on a high note, Gaga made another reference to Joker 2, promising the audience, “Tonight, I promise to act, to sing… and to not do Joker 3.”
Fans quickly took to social media to praise her comedic timing and self-awareness. One user wrote, “Lady Gaga killed her SNL monologue,” while another called her a “comedic, self-aware icon.”
