UPDATE (1/13): Roddy Ricch was forced to drop off of this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live due to Covid-19 exposure amongst members of his team. “Due to recent COVID exposure on my team and to keep everyone safe I won’t be able to to perform on SNL this weekend,” the rapper said on Instagram. “I’m working with the SNL team to lock in a new date though!” NBC confirmed that Ricch will be replaced by Jack Antonoff’s band Bleachers.
See you Saturday! pic.twitter.com/pK3BjxbZcH
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 12, 2022
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Saturday Night Live is ushering in its first 2022 episode, on Jan. 15, with West Side Story star Ariana DeBose as host and Roddy Ricch as the musical guest. It marks the first time either artist has appeared on SNL.
DeBose and Lorne Michaels have previously worked together when the actress portrayed Emma in the Michaels-executive produced Schmigadoon! Ricch dropped his sophomore LP, Live Life Fast in December.
The episode follows the late-night comedy show’s Covid-impacted final episode of 2021, which was void of a live audience due to the spike in Omicron cases; Paul Rudd hosted the show. Surprise guests included Tom Hanks and Tina Fey, with a video spot from Steve Martin and Martin Short. Charli XCX, whose slated performance was nixed due to the show’s lighter crew, made an appearance with Rudd for a musical segment called “The Christmas Socks.” It’s unclear if the show will be back to full speed with the entire cast and a live audience when it returns this month.
From Rolling Stone US
