Olivia Rodrigo made a explosive entrance on Saturday Night Live on May 2, 2026, hosting the show for the very first time in Season 51’s 18th episode — and along the way, she delivered a joke about her former Disney co-star Jake Paul that immediately went viral across the internet.
The 23-year-old pop star opened her monologue by declaring that hosting SNL was “a dream come true.” She joked that she had grown up watching the show as a teenager — and that her “favorite cast members” were Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Chloe Fineman, all of whom are current cast members on the show today.
Rodrigo recalled that at just 13 years old, she starred on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark — a cast that also included Jake Paul.
“We’d always talk about our futures,” Rodrigo said. “I’d say, ‘I really want to create music that explores the complexities of girls my age’ — and Jake would say, ‘One day I really want to beat up old guys on Netflix.'”
READ MORE: Olivia Rodrigo Announces New Album ‘You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,’ Releasing June 12
Olivia Rodrigo’s monologue! pic.twitter.com/z5pdQDuZBv
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) May 3, 2026
The joke was a clear callback to Paul’s Netflix boxing match against Mike Tyson. Rodrigo landed the punchline: “And we both did exactly what we set out to do. Hooray!”
Rodrigo closed out her monologue with a hilarious parody of her 2021 breakout hit “Drivers License.” This time, the song was about getting her real ID — complete with a 14-hour wait at the DMV and nine different documents required just to prove her identity.
This marked Rodrigo’s third overall appearance on SNL, but her first time pulling double duty as both host and musical guest. She had previously appeared on the show in May 2021 and December 2023. With this episode, Rodrigo became the third double-duty host of Season 51, following Sabrina Carpenter on October 18, 2025, and Harry Styles on March 14, 2026.
As musical guest, Rodrigo performed her chart-topping single “Drop Dead” — and also unveiled a brand-new, never-before-heard track from her upcoming album. She had confirmed the surprise during her April 30 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House with Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel pic.twitter.com/08tr0hx7Er
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) May 3, 2026
“Drop Dead” was released on April 17 and debuted straight at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. With that, Rodrigo made history as the first artist ever to have the lead singles from all three of her studio albums debut at the top of the chart.
Two days before her SNL appearance, on April 30, Rodrigo officially announced The Unraveled Tour. Promoted by Live Nation, the massive 65-date global run kicks off September 25, 2026, at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut, and wraps up May 2, 2027, in Barcelona, Spain. Supporting acts include Wolf Alice, The Last Dinner Party, and Devon Again.
The three-time Grammy winner is set to release her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, on June 12, 2026, via Geffen Records.
