Seth Meyers Explains His "Lunatic" Moment Eagle-Eyed Fans Caught on the SNL50 Special
"Look at this idiot thinking no one can see this," joked the Late Night Host about what he was doing during Keith Richards' part of the audience Q&A.
There was a lot going on at SNL50: The Anniversary Special, but eagle-eyed viewers had some questions about a curious action from Seth Meyers while he was seated in the audience.
"I had a line in the Q&A... in the end, I thought it went fine," Meyers said, referring to the special's celebrity question-and-answer segment hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. "But somebody said, 'dude, what were you doing when Keith Richards was asking his questions?'"
"First of all, let me show it real quick and see if you can see what's going on with me," Meyers said, rolling tape on the mysterious moment.
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Why did Seth Meyers whisper behind Keith Richards during the SNL50 anniversary special?
In the clip, Richards asked Fey and Poehler about a scarf he left behind at Saturday Night Live in 1988. Meyers is seated behind the Rolling Stones guitarist, and at one point you can see the Late Night Host quickly cover his mouth and say something. But what?
"So here's the thing: I'd lost my voice, and it was so bad that on Sunday I actually thought I should go tell Lorne, 'I think you have to take me out of the show. My voice is so bad,'" Meyers explained during his "Corrections" YouTube segment for the week of March 3.
While Meyers also appeared during the "Weekend Update" anniversary segment, "the Q&A was the first time I was gonna talk."
"It was one of those lost voices where the first thing you said was always the hardest, and then your voice would warm up a little bit," he continued. "So what I'm doing, I realize, is I'm saying my line into my hand, the way you would try to prime a lawn mower."
"And by the way, I've been in television for 20 years. I'm so f---ing bad at it that I have no idea I'm on camera," Meyers joked as he replayed the clip. "Look at this idiot thinking no one can see this. Like a lunatic!"
You can see the moment for yourself in the "Audience Q&A" segment below.
Seth Meyers commends crew for "seamless" SNL50 Anniversary Special
Meyers also gave a shout-out to the SNL crew, who made the historic live event happen.
"Another round of applause — because, what they pulled off, that was one of the most seamless executions I've ever seen of a live television show with that many moving parts and no dress rehearsal," he said during "Corrections."
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"That was the most incredible thing about it. You know, every time the crew does a show on Saturday, it's half as long [as the three-hour Anniversary Special], plus they also get to run it twice because they have dress rehearsal," he continued, commending the talented behind-the-scenes team.
"Now, it should be noted, if there was dress rehearsal, I don't think I would have had to run my line while Keith Richards was talking. So it took a price out of all of us," Meyers joked. "But still, so proud to know everybody on that show."
