SNL star Bowen Yang relives ‘gayest ever’ Harry Styles sketch

Bowen Yang Harry Styles Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang has reflected on writing the show’s gayest ever sketch “Sara Lee”, which featured Harry Styles in his most iconic role yet.

The hilarious sketch saw Styles play a gay intern who accidentally mixes up his own Instagram account and the official Sara Lee account. Styles’ character accidentally comments “wreck me daddy” under a picture of Nick Jonas and candidly talks about threesomes and “toxicity” in the gay community.

The iconic sketch took the LGBT+ community by storm when it aired in 2019 – and Yang is still proud of it to this day.

The Saturday Night Live writer and star told Entertainment Weekly that he felt welcomed into a “legacy of queer writers” when he joined the show.

Reflecting on the sketch, Yang said it is “about the intersection of being horny and sad” – something most people will be able to relate to.

The unabashedly queer sketch saw Styles joke about getting railed, thirsting after Shawn Mendes, harnesses and aubergine emojis. Unsurprisingly, Yang wasn’t sure if it would even make it to air.

Just before going live, Yang turned to his co-stars Cecily Strong and Styles and told them: “I can’t believe this is about to be on TV,” he revealed.

Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang likes writing ‘weird little queer elements’ into his comedy

Elsewhere in the interview, Yang opened up about becoming a cast member on SNL, where he become the first openly gay man to remain past one season.

“I went in thinking, ‘I’m going to try to do everything,'” Yang said. “But I’ve learned what my wheelhouse is, that it’s OK to home in on some specific tone or material or lexicon.”

Discussing his comedy niche, he said: “It can be something kooky and funny and a big swing, or something more grounded, where there’s still some weird little queer element [that’s] a bit hidden away, but… there for people to pick up on.”

When the Sara Lee sketch first aired, queer Saturday Night Live viewers heaped praise on the show for joking about LGBT+ people without making sexuality the butt of the joke.

The sketch was, of course, also high-key relatable for any queer person who has ever had the unfortunate experience of mixing up their personal and work Instagram accounts.

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