Comedians need to have a thick skin, and Bowen Yang is no exception.
The actor, writer and comic has been with Saturday Night Live since 2018 and part of the on-air cast since 2019. In that time, he’s learned to stop taking it personally when SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels cuts one of his sketches.
In an interview on Thursday, March 7, with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Today With Hoda & Jenna, he described his feelings when something gets cut.
“At this point, I’m fully calloused all around my body and I don’t feel anything, so it’s fine, he can do whatever he wants,” Yang said.
It might be hard to believe that someone as quotable and outgoing as Yang, 33, could not “feel anything,” but his unflinching candor shined through during the interview, which covered everything from stolen “genetic material” to IBS.
On a much cleaner note, Yang discussed his friendship with Ariana Grande and what to expect when she appears as the musical guest on this weekend’s episode of SNL.
Provided Michaels doesn’t cut the sketch, Yang hinted that he and Grande, 30, will appear onscreen together. And even if he does, the two still have their wine nights, stemming from a bond they developed as they worked together on the upcoming film adaptation of the musical Wicked.
“She just emanates this thing,” Yang said. “What you guys think about me is actually about her. She just brings people to her.”
Yang says that he brought Pink Moon rosé to Grande’s house, and it’s since become her new favorite.
“She’s just, like, a real funny one,” Yang said of his pop star friend. “She’s a real one. She’s amazing.”
While Grande will grace the stage this weekend alongside host Josh Brolin, actress Sydney Sweeney had the hosting honor last week. Kotb, 59, and Bush Hager, 42, asked Yang about working with the Madame Web star, specifically in one steamy sketch.
Yang revealed that he was nervous about Sweeney’s comfort level with the sketch, but the actress had a funny response to his concern.
“She finally touched my shoulder and was like, ‘Bowen, I’m on Euphoria,’” he said. “She’s such a professional.”
The interview later went beyond Yang’s time on Saturday Night Live, allowing the comic to promote his Audible Original Series, Hot White Heist, the second season of which premieres on Thursday. Alan Cumming, Jane Krakowski, Jane Lynch, Ian McKellen, Cynthia Nixon and more join Yang in the star-studded cast.
