Nintendo Was Reportedly Unhappy With Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live Wario Sketch
In 2021, Elon Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live in a sketch where he played Wario, the notorious Nintendo character. The sketch depicted Wario on trial in a courtroom, accused of murdering Mario, Nintendo’s iconic plumber protagonist. The skit was poorly received by audiences online, and it has now been revealed that Nintendo itself was also unhappy with the appearance.
Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, both former Nintendo PR managers, disclosed on their YouTube show that the SNL sketch “did not go well” with Nintendo at the time. The revelation sheds light on the company’s internal reaction to the controversial appearance, which featured one of gaming’s most recognized characters portrayed by the Tesla CEO. While the sketch failed to land with viewers, the additional detail about Nintendo’s displeasure suggests the incident may have caused concern within the company’s leadership regarding how their intellectual property was being used in mainstream media.
This disclosure comes in the context of recent SNL sketches involving other major gaming properties, indicating the show’s continued interest in gaming-related comedy. The original 2021 sketch remains a notable example of a high-profile celebrity gaming appearance that failed to resonate with both the gaming community and the company whose characters were featured.