Highlights
- Bad Bunny’s episode hosting Saturday Night Live May not have been financially rewarding.
- SNL hosts typically receive some negative reviews.
- Hosting SNL is considered a rite of passage for celebrities.
One of those rare celebrities who seems to be able to do it all, Bad Bunny started by taking the music world by storm. On top of making a fortune from music, Bad Bunny has also found success as an actor and even a professional wrestler in the past.
Given everything that Bad Bunny has accomplished, it was only a matter of time before he was tapped to host Saturday Night Live. Since Bad Bunny is now a veteran of the successful sketch comedy show, it is fascinating to look at how financially rewarding the show has been for him.
What Was Bad Bunny’s Saturday Night Live Salary?
In February 2021, Bad Bunny appeared on Saturday Night Live to perform alongside Rosalia, the musical guest for an episode. During that same episode, Bad Bunny appeared in one of the sketches lending his vocals to a comedy song titled “Loco”.
A couple of years later, Bad Bunny returned to Saturday Night Live’s stage with a huge upgrade. Welcomed back as the main musical guest, Bad Bunny performed double duty as the episode’s host. To pull double duty like that is a very rare honor that few celebrities have enjoyed.
As SNL’s host, Bad Bunny didn’t come alone. Instead, Mick Jagger and Pedro Pascal made cameo appearances during Bad Bunny’s episode. Needless to say, there aren’t too many stars that people like Pascal and Jagger would be willing to play second fiddle to.
With very few exceptions, virtually all SNL hosts receive some negative reviews once their episode airs. While that certainly happened for Bad Bunny, his episode got a lot of love too which is impressive since he isn’t known as a comedy performer.
All things considered, Bad Bunny has to be very satisfied with how hosting SNL went for him. That said, there is no doubt that Bad Bunny didn’t get a massive payday from NBC for hosting Saturday Night Live.
Every year, there are reports about the highest-paid actors and musicians in the entertainment industry. When those articles are published, they are based on public reporting since celebrities rarely talk about how much they make for a living.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that stars typically don’t talk about how much they get paid to host Saturday Night Live. Fortunately for anyone interested in how much stars get paid to host SNL, one celebrity once revealed some interesting information.
When Justin Timberlake returned to host Saturday Night Live for the third time, he spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the show. As Timberlake discussed what it is like to host the legendary sketch comedy show, he quickly revealed how much the gig paid at that time.
“Where you can really throw the kitchen sink, as far as being a performer, at people. And, it’s a great opportunity for an entertainer like myself to just, you know. It’s the best five grand you can make on television. It’s awesome.”
As of the time of this writing, it has been more than a decade since Timberlake’s interview. With that in mind, it certainly is possible that NBC upped the rate they pay Saturday Night Live hosts like Bad Bunny.
On the other hand, it is entirely possible that NBC still pays only $5,000 to Saturday Night Live’s hosts. After all, based on how much the stars of SNL get paid at first, it seems very unlikely that NBC would be willing to pay hosts much more than that.
In 2018, Celebrity Net Worth published an article looking at how much the cast of Saturday Night Live gets paid. According to that article, SNL stars got paid $7,000 per episode for their first season starring in the show.
- Average hosting salaries at Saturday Night Live are around $7,000
In all likelihood, NBC wouldn’t pay SNL hosts much more than the show’s stars. After all, it is more likely that SNL’s stars may decide to leave the show than celebrities will turn down the chance to host the legendary show.
Why Do Celebrities Host Saturday Night Live?
Since Bad Bunny first became a huge star, it has seemed like everything he touches turns to gold. According to Celebrity Net Worth, that has resulted in Bad Bunny accumulating a truly impressive $40 million fortune as of this writing.
Even if NBC quadrupled how much they pay SNL hosts since Justin Timberlake’s comments, they still would have only paid Bad Bunny $20,000. While that is a lot of money for most people, it certainly doesn’t seem worth it for someone like Bad Bunny.
Keep in mind that there is much more to hosting Saturday Night Live than performing on television for an hour and a half. SNL hosts typically work with the show’s cast for a week to figure out and rehearse the sketches they will be part of.
Given how rich and successful Bad Bunny is, there are many ways he could spend a week working that would be much more lucrative than hosting SNL. That fact makes some observers wonder why stars like Bad Bunny line up to host Saturday Night Live.
At the end of the day, the reason stars jump through hoops to host SNL is the show’s lengthy history.
Now that Saturday Night Live has been on the air for decades, most people above a certain age grew up watching the show. That is the reason why most people’s favorite version of SNL features the cast that was there when they were growing up.
Just like everyone else, most people who become stars these days grew up watching and enjoying their version of SNL. For that reason, they are happy to get the opportunity to be a small part of the show’s history too.
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Most Memorable SNL Hosts Over The Years, According To Us Weekly |
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Ariana Grande |
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Donald Trump |
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Justin Timberlake |
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Eddie Murphy |
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Larry David |
It also is a fact that during SNL’s history, the show’s stage has welcomed countless legends that have gone down in history. Thanks to that incredible history, there is a perception that hosting SNL is a rite of passage for any celebrity that matters.
Between those two factors, it can easily be argued that hosting SNL is priceless no matter how little the gig pays.
Source: NewsFinale
