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SNL's Sarah Sherman Names the One Surprise Guest That Made Her Starstruck
The Saturday Night Live cast member is a big classic rock fan, apparently—and gets it from her dad, who's appeared in a Please Don't Destroy sketch.
It's a busy week at Saturday Night Live, with actress Dakota Johnson gearing up to host for her second time with Justin Timberlake as the musical guest. Fortunately, SNL cast member Sarah Sherman—aka Sarah Squirm—made time to visit The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 23. Sherman shared an adorable story about her dad's cameo in a 2023 Please Don't Destroy sketch, and revealed the one SNL surprise celebrity guest that blew her mind as a fan.
As a former SNL cast member himself, Jimmy Fallon told Sherman that he's a "big fan" of her work on the show, which she joined in Season 47. "You have an infectious charm to you," Fallon said. "You pay it off—every time I see you, you do something super funny, and I can't wait to watch you in a sketch."
"Oh my gosh," said Sherman, who came dressed in one of her signature colorful outfits (she once told Vulture, "I have a lot of pants from a store that sells professional clown clothes”).
Because Season 49 of SNL has been jam-packed with surprise celebrity guests, Fallon had to ask Sherman whether anyone had made her "freak out" from fandom. Maybe one, she admitted.
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The SNL surprise guest that made Sarah Sherman "freak out"
It's been a banger of a season when it comes to surprise celebrity guests on Saturday Night Live: Lady Gaga, Rachel McAdams, and Greta Gerwig, to name a few. Being an SNL cast member obviously requires staying professional amid huge stars, but Fallon asked Sherman if anyone showed up that made her truly starstruck.
While meeting Mick Jagger was "crazy" ("We had a giant framed picture of Keith Richards in our house growing up, so that was fun"), it was another classic rock legend that blew Sherman away.
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"My first season, Halsey was the musical guest," Sherman began. "I'm watching the sound check, and I'm like, 'I'm sorry...who's playing the guitar with Halsey?!"
It was Lindsey Buckingham, former longtime lead guitarist and co-vocalist in Fleetwood Mac (he was often portrayed by Bill Hader as a guest who never got to speak in the "What Up with That?" sketches).
"I couldn't believe it, because he was a surprise unannounced guest," Sherman said. "I ran up to him after the show, and it was my first season. I didn't know how to, like, talk to a human being yet. So I ran up to him to ask if I could take a picture, and think I opened my mouth and just, like, dust came out."
"You never got to tell Lindsey Buckingham that you love him?" Fallon asked.
"No, I got too scared!" Sherman confessed. Fallon told Sherman that "Lindsey watches the show all the time," and directed a message to the musician: "Lindsey, Sarah Sherman is a giant fan of yours, so get in touch."
Sarah Sherman didn't know her dad was going to appear in an SNL sketch
Sherman's dad was in The Tonight Show audience to support his daughter, which led to Sherman recounting how an SNL script note informed her that her father was going to pop up in the "Chelsea" sketch from Season 48's Steve Martin and Martin Short-hosted episode.
"I make fun of my dad in my stand-up a lot," Sherman explained, so for the Please Don't Destroy boys, "my dad was like a celebrity to them. And so we were at the table read one day, and I just see a stage direction in the script that says, 'Sarah's real dad enters the room.'"
"And I was like, 'huh, no one ran that by me,'" Sherman laughed. Watch the "Chelsea" sketch, featuring Sarah Sherman and Sarah Sherman's dad, below.
