‘SNL’ alums Pete Davidson and John Mulaney admit they lied to bombing hosts about bad monologues: “You crushed it”

Former Saturday Night Live stars Pete Davidson and John Mulaney are pulling back the curtain on one of the show’s less glamorous traditions: convincing celebrity hosts they didn’t totally bomb their monologues.

The comedians revisited their time at the long-running NBC sketch series during a panel at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, where they joked about the lengths staffers would go to reassure rattled hosts after lukewarm openings.

Mulaney, who worked as a writer on the series from 2008 to 2013, recalled hyping up even the most nervous A-list guests before they hit the stage.

“When I was 25, I’d tell Oscar-winning hosts — I’d write their monologue and be like, ‘You’re gonna say all that, it’s gonna go great,’ and they’d tank 8 times out of 10,” he said.

Davidson admitted he had his own version of damage control ready whenever a host struggled to connect with Studio 8H.

“I would always say, ‘You crushed it,’” he said with a laugh.

According to Mulaney, actors often had a harder time adjusting to the live-comedy environment than audiences may realize.

“They’ll have actor face. They sort of don’t get it, because they’re just an actor,” he explained. “And they’d be like, ‘Hey, was that good?’ And you’re like, ‘No! Do you have ears?’”

Davidson said he’d frequently try to redirect hosts away from the audience response altogether.

“You’re really performing for the people at home,” he remembered telling them.

Mulaney added to the joke, saying they’d also reassure hosts by downplaying the crowd reaction altogether.

“‘Play for the camera. The audience, they’re just there to help you, but they’re not gonna laugh a lot,’” he quipped.

Davidson took things a step further by inventing excuses about the audience itself.

“And I always would go: ‘They’re tourists. They wait outside and they try to win a lottery. Half of them probably don’t even speak English,’” he said, before immediately admitting, “They do. They’re big fans of the show; they camp outside.”

Mulaney also shared a story about “a very big comedy star” whose monologue fell apart after being difficult during the writing process.

When the performer later asked if the set had gone poorly, Mulaney said he avoided the obvious answer.

“I went: ‘It’s bad acoustics,’” he recalled. “It’s famously one of the best mic’d sound studios in the world. It used to be home to the NBC [Symphony] Orchestra.”

“Saturday Night Live” recently wrapped up its 51st season, with Will Ferrell hosting the finale and Paul McCartney serving as musical guest.