As the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend, Lady Gaga mentioned the elephant in the room right off the bat — and even brought up another elephant that some fans had likely forgotten about.
In a self-mocking monologue, Gaga joked about the failure of her film Joker: Folie à Deux extensively –– but also mentioned the fact that she once collaborated with an artist who’s now in prison for sex trafficking, among other things.
“I’m so happy to be back at ‘SNL.’ The last time I hosted was in 2013. And every aspect of my performance aged amazingly,” Gaga joked. “So there’s no need to Google ‘SNL 2013 Lady Gaga featuring R. Kelly.’ I won’t bring it up!”
In 2013, Gaga and R. Kelly sang “Do What U Want,” from her album Artpop, on several shows, including SNL. In 2019, after the release of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, she deleted the song from streaming services.
As for the movie, Gaga said, “I’ve been very diligent about selecting films that can showcase my craft as a serious actor … such as Joker 2. Apparently people thought it was awesome.” Mentioning that she and co-star Joaquin Phoenix won a Razzie for “worst onscreen duo,” she added, “Joke’s on them … my Razzie brings me one step closer to an EGORT. It’s like an EGOT, but it’s hurtful.”
Gaga also appeared in every sketch and filmed bit except the cold open and Weekend Update, and performed two songs from her new album Mayhem: “Abracadabra” and “Killah.”
She began the funky “Killah” in the hallways of 30 Rock, where censors missed bleeping the s-word out of the lyrics. She then traveled through the audience and onto the stage, where dancers ripped off her purple outfit, revealing a sparkly red bodysuit underneath.
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