{"id":2980,"date":"2026-05-21T13:32:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/snl-writer-calls-out-sketch-show-i-wasnt-a-cast-member-because-im-plus-size\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:32:51","slug":"snl-writer-calls-out-sketch-show-i-wasnt-a-cast-member-because-im-plus-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/snl-writer-calls-out-sketch-show-i-wasnt-a-cast-member-because-im-plus-size\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;SNL&#8217; writer calls out sketch show: I wasn&#8217;t a cast member because I&#8217;m &#8216;plus-size&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/snl-43.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Longtime \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d writer Paula Pell believes she was never a cast member on the show because she\u2019s a \u201cbig plus-size person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 63-year-old shared her theory during Tuesday\u2019s episode of \u201cSNL\u201d alum Amy Poehler\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QmGnepKyeaM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cGood Hang\u201d\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to assume, but I\u2019ve heard, here and there, little things,\u201d she told listeners. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Longtime \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d writer Paula Pell (seen above) claimed Wednesday she was never a cast member on the show because she\u2019s a \u201cbig plus-size person.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Good Hang with Amy Poehler\/Youtube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>She revealed her heartbreaking theory on \u201cSNL\u201d alum Amy Poehler\u2019s \u201cGood Hang\u201d podcast. <span class=\"credit\">goodhangwithamy\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAnd who knows because we\u2019ve all been there when they\u2019re picking people and it\u2019s so random,\u201d she added. \u201cI mean, not random, but there\u2019s reasons that you don\u2019t think are the reasons and all this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I do suspect that [it\u2019s because] I was a big lady,\u201d Pell continued. \u201cI was a big plus-size person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The comedian noted that when she joined\u00a0\u201cSNL\u201d\u00a0in 1995, \u201cthere was just not that [representation] in any TV anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She noted, \u201cThere were starting to be people like\u00a0Roseanne Barr, like, people that had more real-looking bodies, but I was just not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cAnd who knows because we\u2019ve all been there when they\u2019re picking people and it\u2019s so random,\u201d Pell (pictured above in December 2024) continued. <span class=\"credit\">Noam Galai\/NBC via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cBut I do suspect that \u2026 I was a big lady. I was a big plus-size person,\u201d the comedian (pictured above in February 2025) claimed. <span class=\"credit\">Jamie McCarthy\/Peacock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When Poehler asked the Emmy winner whether she \u201ctalked to anyone at the show about that specifically,\u201d Pell replied, \u201cI really was such a good Catholic girl, a rule follower. \u2026 I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pell, notably, didn\u2019t audition for \u201cSNL\u201d but instead got a call to meet with the show\u2019s creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels.<\/p>\n<p>She was working at Disney World at the time and flew to New York City for the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got there and [I] was terrified,\u201d Pell recalled Wednesday. \u201cHe was, like, two hours late and I sat down with him. He started talking like we had been talking already. Like, he started in the middle of a sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The comedian (pictured with several \u201cSNL\u201d cast members in 2006) didn\u2019t audition to be on the sketch comedy show but was instead approached by creator Lorne Michaels. <span class=\"credit\">NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Despite having limited experience in comedy writing, she ended up having an extremely successful run on the show and made cameos in sketches, as seen above in 2002. <span class=\"credit\">NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Pell joked that despite not getting a formal job offer from Michaels, she somehow ended up on the writing staff.<\/p>\n<p>Before joining\u00a0\u201cSNL\u201d\u00a0behind-the-scenes, Pell was \u201cnot a writer\u201d and only had previous comedy experience doing live performances at theme parks and theaters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven though I\u2019d written short stories, I [didn\u2019t] know how to do any of this,\u201d she said of writing for the NBC show.<\/p>\n<p>Pell, however, worked on \u201cSNL\u201d from 1995 to 2013 and created some of its most popular characters and sketches, occasionally making cameos.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Pell (pictured above in \u201cGirls5eva\u201d) eventually pursued her original dream of acting and appeared in several TV shows. <span class=\"credit\">Emily V. Aragones\/Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cIt\u2019s why I\u2019m so gloriously happy to be able to perform later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage,\u201d she explained Wednesday. <span class=\"credit\">Alyssa Longchamp\/Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She has also been a screenwriter on several major projects, including \u201cBridesmaids\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2023\/11\/20\/entertainment\/kim-kardashian-to-produce-star-in-the-5th-wheel-after-ahs\/\">Kim Kardashian\u2019s upcoming movie<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/28\/celebrity-news\/kim-kardashian-is-a-las-vegas-showgirl-on-the-fifth-wheel-set\/\">\u201cThe 5th Wheel.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pell did pursue her original dream of acting post-\u201cSNL\u201d and scored roles in shows from\u00a0\u201c30 Rock\u201d to \u201cGirls5eva.\u201d She is currently starring on Peacock\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe \u2018Burbs\u201d\u00a0series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s why I\u2019m so gloriously happy to be able to perform later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage,\u201d she gushed on \u201cGood Hang.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/21\/entertainment\/snl-writer-calls-out-sketch-show-i-wasnt-a-cast-member-because-im-plus-size\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Longtime \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d writer Paula Pell believes she was never a cast member on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/snl-43.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}