Meryl Streep should ‘win an award’ say SNL fans after her surprise debut

‘This is hands down the best part of the #SNL50 special,’ said one enthusiastic viewer

SNL fans are calling for Meryl Streep to win an Emmy after she made her long-awaited debut during the show’s 50th anniversary special.

The unique event, which aired on Sunday (16 February) featured many famous faces, including Ryan Reynolds who raised eyebrows with a joke about his and Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

Streep’s first SNL appearance was in the recurring “Close Encounters” sketch, in which Pentagon officials, played by Jon Hamm and Aidy Bryant, interview characters who claim to have been abducted by aliens.

Woody Harrelson and Pedro Pascal joined Streep in the sketch, where she played the mother of Kate McKinnon’s Colleen Rafferty, who often regales her explicit rendezvous with extraterrestrials.

Like her fictional daughter in the skit, Streep wore a Hawaiian shirt, smoked a cigarette, and told similar X-rated stories about aliens.

After Pascal’s character leaned over to tell her that she was “a good mother,” she suggestively noted: “Yeah, well, a good mother can also be a bad girl”.

Streep’s appearance has already been strongly praised by SNL fans, with some claiming it’s worthy of a Primetime Emmy award.

Meryl Streep arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs (REUTERS)

“Can we just give the Emmy to Meryl Streep and Kate McKinnon right now? This is hands down the best part of the #SNL50 special so far!”, wrote one viewer.

Another person said: “I hope Meryl Streep wins an Emmy for playing Kate McKinnon's mom in the alien abduction sketch.”

A third joked: “Meryl Streep and Kate McKinnon said: ‘Let me do this sketch to get my Emmy nomination.’”

Streep has previously won three Emmys for her work on Holocaust, Angels in America and Five Came Back. Numerous SNL guests have won Emmys for their appearances on the show including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Eddie Murphy.

While many applauded her performance, others couldn’t believe that the three-time Oscar winner had never been on SNL before.

“SNL and Meryl Streep’s career both began in 1975. This is the first time she has ever appeared at Studio 8H,” proclaimed one fan.

Another asked: “Meryl Streep makes her first ever appearance on SNL and flirts with Pedro Pascal in a sketch for #SNL50. How has she never hosted?”

Meanwhile, a third said: “I can’t believe Meryl Streep’s first appearance ever on SNL was tonight playing Kate McKinnon's mom and telling Pedro Pascal she could be a bad girl.”

Streep’s debut came alongside Martin Short’s return to SNL amid rumours that the two are dating.

Meryl Streep and Martin Short (Getty Images)

Back in January 2024, stories started swirling that Short and Streep were in a relationship. However, the Innerspace star’s representative quickly shut those claims down, clarifying to The Messenger: “They are just very good friends, nothing more.”