Saturday Night Live – the late-night playground where anything can happen when comedy meets chaos. One could say that SNL is the wild child of TV – unpredictable, hilarious, and sometimes delightfully off the rails. However, no matter how smooth and fun things may seem on our screens, there is always behind-the-scenes drama accompanying it, like the time Diddy had an absurd demand for his rehearsals.
Currently awaiting trial in jail, Diddy’s popularity has taken a plunge thanks to all the lawsuits and accusations against him but there was a time when the industry mogul had the world wrapped around his finger. So, when he was all set to be the musical guest on SNL in 1998, he demanded a complete closed set for his rehearsals. Unfortunately for him, Will Ferrel was not in the mood to respect Diddy’s odd wish.
Diddy Wanted a Closed Set on Saturday Night Live
Former Saturday Night Live star Ana Gasteyer recently appeared on the Las Culturistas podcast where she recalled the obnoxious behavior of Sean “Diddy” Combs back in 1998.
As per her anecdote, Diddy had a sense of “faux importance” which led him to demand a closed set for his rehearsals. Cast members were supposed to stay in their respective rooms, and the whole building was essentially shut down just for him.
Gasteyer stated, “He of course shut down the whole building. He demanded a totally closed set.” She then recalled that during her six years with the show, just about five “as*holes” had a similar diva moment. As far as the SNL alum is concerned, such behavior would have only been appropriate if the guest was a presidential candidate or so.
You can tell like the five a*sholes in the six years that I was there when they would be like, ‘So and so is in the building, everybody stays in your dressing rooms,’ which is applicable if you’re a presidential candidate. But apart from that, really, it’s my house.
Regardless of the absurdity of the demand, his wish was fulfilled and he had the set to himself. However, his peace didn’t last long thanks to Will Ferrell being a total and absolute menace.
Will Ferrell Hilariously Interrupted Diddy’s Peace
On the podcast, Gasteyer recalled how everyone thought it’d be hilarious for Ferrell, a fellow cast member at the time, to crash Diddy’s rehearsals. The actor didn’t miss a beat and got into character, dressed as his popular persona, Ron.
As Diddy rehearsed Come with Me, Ferrell walked onto the closed set as Ron and pretended to be really out of it while he walked around the room. Gasteyer revealed that she even has the entire moment on tape.
She recalled the writers suggesting,
‘Wouldn’t it be so funny if Ron just went in?’ And he did. He went on down the stairs and he marched right in, and I have the video from the control room where Sean Combs is rapping, and Ron’s just walking around looking really disoriented.
Needless to say, Diddy was not too happy with how things turned out. Gasteyer stated,
It is the greatest thing that’s ever happened. [Diddy] really did not roll with it. He was very uncomfortable, but it was also just like the artifice of all that faux importance.
When recalling the same story on Stories From the Show, Ferrell stated that he just “sprinted out the door” when the suggestion was made but didn’t have any idea what to do once he was on the set. He said, “I didn’t really know what to do once I got up there.” Luckily, no mess was made and he and Diddy even shook hands after the latter finished his song.
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