Elon Musk-hosted 'Saturday Night Live' drew attention to Asperger's, Dogecoin
What's the story
Billionaire entrepreneur and meme lord Elon Musk recently hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) with musical guest Miley Cyrus. The hype, just like everything Musk-related, was real as he delivered his monologue and participated in other comedy sketches. Interestingly, the episode was broadcast internationally and was not just limited to the US and a few other countries, which usually is the norm. The Musk-effect?
Monologue
Musk's monologue was a little off but endearing
Musk started off with a mistake in his monologue. He stated that he is the "first person" with Asperger's to host SNL, but one of the show's cast members in the early 2000s named Dan Aykroyd has Asperger's and he has hosted the show. The Tesla honcho also talked about his vision for the future and said that humans should be a multi-planetary species.
Twitter Post
'Mum'-ified: Musk invited his mum on stage during his monologue
Monologue! 💫 @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/xeH1EOU79A
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 9, 2021
Dogecoin
His appearance wiped out gains in this cryptocurrency
Apart from the monologue, Musk was also a part of SNL's weekend update sketch. He played a financial expert named Lloyd Ostertag, who comes in to explain cryptocurrency to everyone. In that, his co-hosts pesters him about Dogecoin (a meme cryptocurrency). After a few no-answers, he ends up saying "it's a hustle." The price of Dogecoin actually fell over 30% after his appearance. Oops!
Twitter Post
'To the moon,' says Musk, or is to the ground?
Lloyd Ostertag stopped by the desk to talk cryptocurrency. pic.twitter.com/cuILxOBJlj
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 9, 2021
Viewership
The ratings flew high with Musk, thanks to his followers
The viewership for SNL normally goes down in the spring, but the Musk episode became an anomaly. It boosted the ratings of the show to a level when the US elections are held, when viewership is typically high. One of the major reasons behind it is his personal brand. He has a legion of followers that follow him for both financial and entertainment value.
The show
Started in 1974, 'SNL' is now in its 46th season
Saturday Night Live or popularly known as SNL is an American late-night TV sketch comedy show created by Lorne Michaels. It first premiered back in 1975 under the name NBC's Saturday Night and has aired over 900 episodes till now. The show is one of the longest-running network TV programs in the United States and is currently in its 46th season.