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Former SNL writer Harper Steele appeared on the February 14 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers, revealing an incident involving rapper Jay-Z on the show's sets.
She told the host, Seth Meyers, that in season 26 of the show, when a sketch featuring Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Siegel, and Will Ferrell was being filmed in December 2000, the rapper asked if Steele could replace the prop joint with a real one. She stated:
"I get there between dress and air, and Jay-Z goes, 'Can we get a real joint?' And I was like, 'Yeah, you’re Jay-Z. Of course, you can.'"
Harper Steele also shared the aftermath of the incident, as the whole set smelled of pot, which led NBC's longtime director of Broadcast Standards, Betzy Torres-Mitchell, to call an intern to fetch Steele to have a conversation with her.
The former Saturday Night Live writer then shared that she instructed the intern to lie and tell Betzy Torres-Mitchell that she had gone home. She stated:
"I look at this little pimply-faced intern and I go, 'You tell Betzy Torres that I went home.'"
Former SNL writer Harper Steele talked about her friendship with Will Ferrell
Harper Steele appeared on the February 14 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers to promote SNL50: The Anniversary Special. She told Seth Meyers about how Will Ferrell supported her when she first started working on the show.
Seth Meyers asked about her comedy sketch called Zip-up Boots, which never aired. She replied how she was expecting to get fired during her first year at the show, and Will Ferrell gifted her a pair of zipper boots to cheer her up. She stated:
"My hopes were high because I had nothing on the show for so long, and I was getting fired. It was an obvious thing... Will Ferrell comes through the door. And he had stopped at the Florsheim place and got me a pair of zipper boots. And it was just one of these moments where I think Will was like, 'Don't worry, it's gonna happen.'"
The Netflix docuseries Will & Harper, which premiered last year, explores Will Ferrell and Harper Steele's decades-long friendship. Although it recently lost in the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards in the Best Documentary category, it has received critical acclaim.
SNL brought back Kristen Wiig's famous character Dooneese in the anniversary special episode
Many celebrities and former SNL stars joined the Sunday episode to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. Kristen Wiig, Scarlett Johansson, Kim Kardashian, and Ana Gasteyer played the Maharelle sisters in the SNL50: The Anniversary Special episode, which aired on February 16.
In the first sketch of the episode, The Lawrence Welk Show, Fred Armisen played Lawrence Welk, and Will Ferrell played actor Robert Goulet. Wiig's famous character, Dooneese, appeared in the sketch with her dialogue:
"And I'm Dooneese."
The SNL50: The Anniversary Special episode aired on Sunday on NBC and is available for streaming on Peacock.
