Meryl Streep Cracks Up In ‘SNL’ Debut During ‘Close Encounter’ Sketch With Kate McKinnon

Hyoju AnFebruary 19, 2025, 1:00 amNews >

Meryl Streep made her highly anticipated Saturday Night Live debut during SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Feb. 16, joining the show’s legendary Close Encounter sketch.

Even the three-time Oscar winner couldn’t keep a straight face as she played the cigarette-smoking mother of Kate McKinnon’s character, Colleen Rafferty.

The sketch, which also featured Jon Hamm as a Space Force officer and Aidy Bryant as a doctor, centered around the bizarre alien abduction experiences of McKinnon, Woody Harrelson and Pedro Pascal’s characters. Streep, playing Colleen Rafferty Sr., joined the chaos wearing a Hawaiian shirt and short gray wig.

“Sorry, my bathroom break took longer than I thought,” she deadpanned. “My No.1 turned into a No. 3.”

Streep’s character claimed she had also been abducted by aliens, joking, “Us Rafferty girls, we always attracting the freaks. For years I thought Colleen’s father was part alien, but turns out he was just uncircumcised.”

As McKinnon described her own unfortunate pubic hair situation, Streep’s Colleen Sr. chimed in, saying, “Much like her, I got an Into the Woods sort of situation,” referencing her role as the Witch in the 2014 musical. Struggling to contain her laughter, she added, “My ex used to say that it was like trying to hack his way through the Black Forest.”

The actress broke character completely when describing how she landed back on Earth, revealing she had lost her pants during the descent. “My pants got snagged on a piece of metal, so they’re gone,” she said. “And then as for underwear, underwear-wise, this devil wears nada.”

The moment marked Streep’s first-ever SNL appearance, coinciding with growing speculation about her rumored romance with Martin Short, a former cast member who also attended the anniversary event.