Saturday Night Lives Elon Musk Announcement Parodies — Three stacked note cards on cork background: cream 'MAY 8', light blue 'ELON MUSK', hot pink 'MILEY

Saturday Night Lives Elon Musk Announcement Parodies

2021Exploitable image templatedead

Published March 24, 2026

Also known as: SNL Post-It Meme · SNL Announcement Card Meme

Saturday Night Live's Elon Musk Announcement Parodies are an exploitable meme format that blew up on Twitter in late April 2021 after NBC's *Saturday Night Live* revealed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk would host its May 8th episode. The announcement used a distinctive three-card visual layout, which Twitter users quickly turned into a template for suggesting absurd or villainous alternative hosts. The trend burned bright for a few days, fueled by genuine backlash against the booking and a love of the simple, editable format.

exploitable templates snl memes elon musk memes political satire memes 2021 memes

Overview

The meme revolves around a simple image of three handwritten-style cards (or Post-It notes) arranged side by side. In the original SNL announcement, the cards read: the episode date, the host's name, and the musical guest. After the Musk announcement sparked controversy, people started editing the cards to feature joke pairings of hosts and musical guests, usually swapping in controversial public figures, fictional villains, or intentionally terrible musical acts3. The format's appeal was its simplicity. Anyone with basic image editing skills could swap in new names and the joke landed instantly1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (announcement by @nbcsnl), Twitter (meme spread)
Key People
@BonerWizard, NBC's Saturday Night Live
Date
2021

On April 24, 2021, the official *Saturday Night Live* Twitter account posted an image announcing that Elon Musk would host the May 8th episode, with Miley Cyrus as the musical guest3. The announcement followed SNL's traditional format of three handwritten-looking cards displayed together. The tweet picked up over 3,700 retweets, 12,400 quote tweets, and 26,000 likes within two days3.

The booking was immediately controversial. Critics pointed to Musk's status as one of the two richest people in the world and allegations that he had tried to prevent Tesla employees from unionizing1. Some noted that Miley Cyrus could have pulled double duty as both host and musical guest, similar to what Nick Jonas was already set to do the weekend prior1. But while some offered serious criticism, others turned to humor.

Shortly after the announcement, Twitter user @BonerWizard posted the first parody, editing the cards to show O.J. Simpson as the host and "That lil yodeling nerd" (a reference to Mason Ramsay, the Walmart yodeling kid) as the musical guest3. That tweet pulled in over 6,900 retweets and 104,000 likes. Critically, @BonerWizard also posted a blank version of the template, making it easy for anyone to create their own version3.

How It Spread

With the blank template circulating, parodies flooded Twitter within hours. Users followed a consistent joke structure: swap the host with a polarizing or villainous figure and pair them with a musical guest that was equally absurd or unwelcome.

Twitter user @TheirMaddesty posted a version naming Mitch McConnell as host and the *Glee* cast as musical guest, earning over 2,000 retweets and 35,000 likes3. Another popular entry came from @KaraBTweets, who listed Sarah Huckabee Sanders as host with "That U2 Album That Showed Up On Everyone's iPhone" as the musical guest, pulling over 1,700 retweets and 30,000 likes3.

The trend caught media attention quickly. Screen Rant ran a piece rounding up the best examples and speculating that the backlash might have been exactly what SNL wanted, since the show had been at "a record low" in ratings1. Uproxx also covered the meme template and Twitter's reaction2. Screen Rant's article noted that SNL had a long history of booking polarizing non-actor hosts, pointing to Donald Trump's 2015 appearance as a precedent for controversy1.

The meme's life cycle was short. It peaked in the few days between the April 24 announcement and the actual episode airing on May 8, 2021. Once the episode aired (Musk's hosting received mixed reviews), the template lost its topical energy and faded from use.

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How to Use This Meme

The format is straightforward:

1

Start with the blank three-card template (originally shared by @BonerWizard)3.

2

On the first card, write a date (often left as the original May 8 or changed to something else).

3

On the second card, write the name of a controversial, villainous, or absurd "host."

4

On the third card, write a musical guest that's equally ridiculous or unwelcome.

5

The joke typically works best when both names are obviously terrible choices, echoing the original criticism of booking Musk.

Cultural Impact

Screen Rant suggested that the backlash may have been a deliberate strategy by SNL producer Lorne Michaels to boost the show's declining ratings1. Whether or not that was the intent, the meme cycle accomplished what the announcement alone might not have: it put SNL back in the national conversation for a few days.

The meme also fit into a broader pattern of Twitter users using corporate announcement templates as comedy vehicles. SNL's card format was clean, recognizable, and easy to edit, making it a natural exploitable3. The trend reflected growing public skepticism toward billionaire celebrity culture, with Musk as the specific lightning rod.

Fun Facts

The original SNL announcement tweet got more quote tweets (12,400+) than regular retweets (3,700+), a ratio that usually signals controversy or mockery3.

@BonerWizard's parody with O.J. Simpson as host outperformed the official SNL tweet in likes, hitting 104,000 compared to SNL's 26,0003.

Elon Musk was not the first controversial non-actor to host SNL. Donald Trump hosted in 2015 to similar outcry, and the show has welcomed politicians and athletes since its early days1.

Some people skipped the meme entirely and simply argued that Miley Cyrus should have been given the dual host/musical guest slot, as Nick Jonas was doing the weekend before1.

Derivatives & Variations

O.J. Simpson / Mason Ramsay version:

The original parody by @BonerWizard that kicked off the trend, pairing an infamous figure with the Walmart yodeling kid[3].

Mitch McConnell / Glee Cast version:

@TheirMaddesty's political spin on the format, one of the most-liked variations[3].

Sarah Huckabee Sanders / U2 iPhone Album version:

@KaraBTweets' entry, referencing Apple's widely mocked 2014 decision to auto-add a U2 album to every iPhone[3].

Frequently Asked Questions