You aren’t hearing things — John Mulaney’s name *was* mispronounced on Saturday Night Live
Well, this is awkward… After working as a writer on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series for five years and making a short cameo just weeks ago, John Mulaney returned to studio 8H over the weekend to host Saturday Night Live for the first time. The former SNL writer, who is partly responsible for two of Bill Hader’s iconic characters, Herb Welch and Stefon, has since made a name for himself as one of the top stand-up comedians, with two popular specials and a third on the way.
But while the comedian’s hosting debut was full of fun cameos (including Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, who appeared as Robert Mueller and Michael Cohen in a Meet the Parents spoof) and long-shelved sketches, the show actually began with a slight hitch.
Despite the fact that Mulaney worked on the hit show for years, when he went out to deliver his monologue, announcer Darrell Hammond mispronounced his name, calling him “John Mulvaney.”
Naturally, the move surprised fans on Twitter, who couldn’t decide whether the mispronunciation happened on purpose. Many were simply surprised by the mispronunciation, especially considering John Mulaney worked at SNL — and that his tenure and Hammond’s overlapped for a year. But this being Twitter, others took things a step further, speculating that the mispronunciation was actually a sign of a potential feud between the two.
Regardless, people were feeling pretty awkward about the mishap.
John Mulaney worked at SNL for five years and just got introduced as "John Mulvaney" twice. Was that…a bit?
— Bonnie Stiernberg (@aahrealbonsters) April 15, 2018
John Mulvaney is New York’s hottest nightclub.
— Jake Plunkett (@JakePlunkett) April 15, 2018
Um, did #SNL announcer (Darrell Hammond?) mispronounce John Mulaney’s name as “John Mulvaney” on purpose?
— Bill Kuchman (@billkuchman) April 15, 2018
On the question of whether @DarrellCHammond twice mispronouncing @mulaney as "John Mulvaney" on SNL last night was a mistake or a bit:
Watching the show on VOD now and magically, it has been corrected.
So no, it wasn't a bit.
That sucks for @mulaney
— Walter Levitt (@MediaMktgGuy) April 15, 2018
THEY JUST ANNOUNCED JOHN MULANEY ON SNL AS "JOHN MULVANEY" LMAO
— demi adejuyigbe (@electrolemon) April 15, 2018
At the top of tonight's #SNL, sounded like Darrell Hammond announced host "John MULVANEY." He said it twice. Don't get it. Just mistake?
— Rick Ludwin (@riclud) April 15, 2018
Darrell Hammond 100% said John MulVaney instead of Mulaney TWICE. Mulaney’s first year on #SNL was Hammond’s last. Is there drama? pic.twitter.com/amm2U5nqqL
— Jillian Sederholm (@JillianSed) April 15, 2018
I still can’t get over that @mulaney was introduced as “John Mulvaney” twice lolol. Pls tell me that’s an inside joke
— Lace (@LaceyPutman) April 15, 2018
Wait announcing him as John Mulvaney wasn’t a bit??? #snl
— Tyler Feder rhymes with cheddar (@roaringsoftly) April 15, 2018
Hey @nbcsnl who the hell is John “Mulvaney?” The fucking guy used to work there! #SNL
— Big Z (@The300sBigZ) April 15, 2018
I’ll be wondering all night if Darrell Hammond introduced @mulaney as John MulVANEY on purpose as a joke, or if he’s that bad that he doesn’t recognize an SNL host who wrote for some of the best sketches for 5 years…
— Wes Whitenight (@wwhitenight) April 15, 2018
John Mulaney (who wrote for SNL for 5 years) was introduced TWICE as host "John Mulvaney"
— Logan Rhoades (@LoganRhoades) April 15, 2018
On Sunday, April 15th, Hammond took to Twitter to confirm that he mispronounced Mulaney’s name.
He apologized to the Big Mouth actor, saying the error happened because he was trying to multitask. Hammond even shared a video from the dress rehearsal of him pronouncing “Mulaney,” proving he does know his former colleague’s name.
Nothing gets past the twitter universe! I was trying to adjust a cue card/plug my show @ImprovKCMO and clearly I am no good at multi tasking. I really made a dumb mistake and I am sincerely sorry. Congrats on a great show @mulaney ! You rocked it! @nbcsnl #SNL pic.twitter.com/NyvGjDvvzf
— Darrell Hammond (@DarrellCHammond) April 15, 2018
Here is a clip of me announcing for the dress rehearsal. Clearly I know John MulVaney’s name…😂 @nbcsnl @mulaney pic.twitter.com/7MEFqJLGHF
— Darrell Hammond (@DarrellCHammond) April 15, 2018
Confirming there was no drama between the two, John Mulaney took it in stride, tweeting that he was most disappointed that he hadn’t asked Hammond to mispronounce his name on purpose. The New in Town comedian added that writing for Hammond during his first few weeks on the show was a “top five memory.”
"No apology necessary Darrell," Mulaney wrote. "I thought it was hilarious and am only bummed I didn’t think to ask you to do it on purpose. You let me & Rob Klein write a Clinton update feature for you my third week in ‘08. Still a top 5 memory for me. Thank you friend"
No apology necessary Darrell. I thought it was hilarious and am only bummed I didn’t think to ask you to do it on purpose. You let me & Rob Klein write a Clinton update feature for you my third week in ‘08. Still a top 5 memory for me. Thank you friend. https://t.co/1osucPNXW8
— John Mulaney (@mulaney) April 15, 2018
We’re glad the pair aren’t dwelling on the mishap. Mistakes happen! Hopefully, Mulaney will be back to host again sometime soon — and be called by the right name, of course.
