Chloe Fineman, a seasoned member of the "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) ensemble, stands firm in her decision to call out Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for reducing her to tears during his 2021 hosting stint on the iconic show. On a Tuesday evening, Fineman took to her Instagram Story, as reported by the Daily Beast, pensively noting, "Recall the uproar when I dared to speak up about the Nazi-like salute? Well, zero regrets here." Her post was a pointed reference to Musk's recent controversial gesture, which evoked comparisons to fascist salutes, mere days prior.
Flashback to August 2024, when Fineman's fellow castmate Bowen Yang disclosed on "Watch What Happens Live" a revealing anecdote: a male SNL host had reportedly caused "multiple cast members to shed tears" while rehearsing sketches at the table read. Fast forward to November of that year, Fineman courageously came forward on TikTok (although the video has since been taken down), exposing Musk as the very "male host" in question.
In her video, Fineman articulated with palpable emotion, "I just caught wind of an article where Elon Musk seems upset about his SNL appearance and impression. I mean, come on, you clearly watched the show! What are you even talking about? And you know what? I've had enough. I'm finally coming clean and saying that I'm the cast member he made cry. He's the host who brought tears to someone's eyes. Maybe there were others too."
Musk's subsequent response on X was far from conciliatory. He penned, "Honestly, it wasn't until the Thursday before the Saturday show that any of the sketches even elicited laughter. I was genuinely worried. I thought to myself, 'Oh no, my SNL appearance is going to be so unfunny it'll sober up a crackhead!' But fortunately, it all turned out alright in the end."
