It was the sketch everyone knew was coming, yet it still managed to set the internet on fire. When Sydney Sweeney stepped onto the Studio 8H stage for her Saturday Night Live hosting debut on March 2, 2024, the air felt thick with expectation. People weren't just waiting for the monologue or the Madame Web jokes—they were waiting for the "Hooters" moment.
And they got it.
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The sketch, titled "Hooters Waitress," basically broke the social media metrics for Season 49. It featured Sweeney as a new trainee at the famous wing joint, out-earning her veteran colleagues (played by Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman) by tens of thousands of dollars despite having zero technical skills. While the premise was simple, the reaction was anything but. To some, it was a lazy throwback to 90s-era "hot girl" comedy. To others, it was a brilliant bit of self-aware branding.
The Reality Behind the Uniform
Let’s be real: SNL has a playbook for this. They’ve done it with Katy Perry. They’ve done it with Lindsay Lohan. When a woman enters the cultural zeitgeist with a specific type of physical presence, the writers usually lean into it.
The plot of the Sydney Sweeney SNL Hooters sketch was almost aggressively straightforward. Sweeney’s character, the "new girl," is absolutely terrible at her job. She forgets orders. She’s confused by the menu. But when the tips start rolling in, she’s clearing $30,000 to $40,000 in a single shift. Meanwhile, Fineman and Sherman are pulling in $20 and a handful of frowns.
Who Actually Wrote It?
Interestingly, this wasn't some room of male writers trying to exploit a star. Chloe Fineman eventually admitted on the Fly on the Wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade that she was the one who pitched it.
Fineman actually joked that she felt like the "pervert" for coming up with the concept. But here’s the kicker: Sweeney didn't just agree to it; she actively wanted to do it. After the initial pitch, Sweeney reportedly DM’d Fineman to make sure the script actually got written. It wasn't a case of a young actress being forced into a skimpy outfit—it was a calculated move by a woman who knows exactly how the world sees her.
Why the Internet Lost Its Mind
The sketch hit 3 million views on YouTube almost instantly. It wasn't just about the orange shorts, though that’s certainly what drove the initial clicks. It became a proxy war for how we talk about female celebrities in 2026.
- The "Objectification" Argument: Critics argued that the sketch was a regression. They pointed to Sweeney's past interviews where she talked about the "unwanted attention" her body receives. For these viewers, seeing her play a character whose only value was her chest felt like SNL was being lazy.
- The "Power Move" Perspective: On the flip side, fans of the Euphoria star saw it as her taking the reins. By leaning into the trope, she was essentially saying, "I know what you're looking at, and I'm going to make money and comedy out of it."
- The Branding Win: Hooters (the actual company) didn't miss a beat. They jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and offered to donate a day’s proceeds to the V Foundation for Cancer Research if Sweeney would work one real shift. She didn't take them up on it—she was a little busy at Paris Fashion Week for Miu Miu at the time—but the marketing cycle was complete.
The "Flaco the Owl" Twist
Honestly, the funniest part of the whole sketch had nothing to do with the Hooters girls. It was the weird, dark tribute to Flaco, the famous Eurasian eagle-owl who had recently passed away in New York City. The sketch ended with the male customers (including a hilariously committed Kenan Thompson) howling like owls. It was the kind of "madness" that Dana Carvey later praised for being pure, silly SNL.
Expert Insight: The "It Girl" Curse
There’s a nuance here that most people miss. Sweeney is a producer. She’s savvy. If you look at her career trajectory—from the vulnerability of The White Lotus to the grit of Reality—she isn't just a "pretty face."
By doing the Sydney Sweeney SNL Hooters sketch, she effectively neutralized the joke. If she had tried to hide her image, the internet would have found a way to mock it. By wearing the orange shorts and laughing at the absurdity of a waitress making $40,000 in tips, she moved the goalposts. She wasn't the butt of the joke; the "innocuous perverts" (as some critics called the male characters) were.
What This Means for SNL's Future
Is SNL getting lazier? Maybe. Some Reddit users pointed out that the sketch hinged on the "absurd" premise that Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman aren't attractive, which is objectively false. It’s a "stock skit" that they repaint every few years.
However, the numbers don't lie. The "Hooters Waitress" bit was the most-watched clip of the night by a landslide. In a landscape where late-night TV is fighting for relevance, these viral moments are the lifeblood of the show. Whether it's high art or low-brow comedy doesn't matter much to the executives when the views are in the millions.
Key Takeaways for the Casual Viewer
- Ownership is everything: Sweeney’s involvement in the writing process changes the narrative from "exploitation" to "performance."
- Viral beats Variety: The show knows that specific tropes—like the "Hooters" waitress—will always outperform more nuanced political satire in the digital age.
- The "Madame Web" Context: This episode happened right as Sweeney was being roasted for Madame Web. Using SNL to lean into her "bombshell" status was a way to pivot the conversation away from a box-office flop and back toward her personal brand.
If you're looking to understand the modern celebrity machine, look no further than those four minutes of television. It’s a mix of self-awareness, corporate synergy, and the kind of "madness" that keeps Saturday Night Live in the headlines after 50 years.
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To really get the full picture of Sweeney's range, you should check out her performance in Reality or her work as an executive producer on Anyone But You. Seeing the business mind behind the orange shorts makes the SNL performance look less like a costume and more like a strategy.