Ed Sheeran tests positive for COVID-19 just after being announced as next SNL musical guest
Ed Sheeran was supposed to appear on the November 6 episode with Succession's Kieran Culkin but may have to cancel
Aux News Ed Sheeran
Last night, during Jason Sudeikis’ episode of Saturday Night Live, the show announced that—following a spooky hiatus next Saturday for Halloween Eve—the next episode will feature Succession’s Kieran Culkin as host and lovable/extremely divisive orange-headed moppet Ed Sheeran as the musical guest. Then, about… nine hours later, Sheeran announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will now be “self-isolating and following government guidelines.”
Sheeran made that announcement on Instagram, during which he also noted that he’ll be doing as many previously planned “interviews/performances” as he can from his house. At this point, it’s unclear if that includes SNL, but it seems like it could go either way. The show is certainly set up to do remote musical performances, as it’s not that hard and it had those fully remote episodes in 2020 anyway, but at the same time, why do a remote musical performance unless you absolutely have to?
Sheeran has a new album coming out on Friday, so he would probably prefer some kind of SNL appearance (god knows that Ed Sheeran albums aren’t going to sell unless he makes the full PR tour), but surely SNL has a bottomless supply of musical artists who would be happy to show up and do the show last-minute. Dave Grohl just did SNL last year, so he probably deserves a break, but Paul Simon hasn’t been on in a while. There’s no reason Lorne Michaels can’t give him a call and make him show up at Studio 8H.
The next episode of Saturday Night Live, featuring the return of Kieran Culkin (Deadline points out that he appeared in a few sketches when his brother hosted 30 years ago) and possibly the return of Ed Sheeran (we’re going with “don’t count on it but we’re willing to be surprised”) will air on November 6.
41 Comments
Gee. That’s too bad.
Edit
Paul McCartney has that vast book coming out. Maybe Lorne can get him & Ringo…
The LIB remix came out, the Get Back Documentary is on its way, they’re both very old.Come on, let me get Paul, Ringo, Dhani, and Sean one time just doing like I’ve Got A Feeling and Don’t Let Me Down.
And bring out Bob Dylan during the end credits for a surprise “Handle With Care”
I don’t get it, were they in a band at some point?
Beets me
+1 killer tofu
They could do the requested three-song set and collect half of the money. As Michaels said at the time that they can split it up any way they want, meaning Paul wouldn’t have to give Ringo half the take.
I’m sure Sir Paul would love a platform where people will finally listen to him about who really broke up the Beatles and that he’s not really a dead walrus.
If Lorne’s $3,000 offer still holds they’d only have to split it two ways now.
Does that mean Paul will get $2000 & Ringo $1000?(There’s a story that Paul was in town and visiting John when that aired and the two of them contemplated actually heading to 30 Rock)
A friend and I were watching this last night, and I commented that after 43 years, it was time for the Rolling Stones to make a return appearance.
So is this a breakthrough/delta/delta+ case on a vaccinated person or was Sheeran never fully vaccinated?
Maybe? Probably? Possibly? Not sure what the point is here. Sheeran is a musical irritant and corny as fuck, but he doesn’t seem like a prick.
You have to be something of a prick to write songs like that.
Isolation is ten days. The performance is in fourteen. I would have thought it would make no difference whatsoever to his SNL appearance, unless he’s still unwell at that point.
I know the hosts work the whole week ahead of the show to prepare. I assume musical guests don’t need that much time but maybe their is prep he needs in advances. Plus if he a symptomatic case he may be feeling better and not contagious in ten days but his voice may be shot for longer.
and while you wouldn’t know it from Brandi Carlile’s performance, the SNL stage is notoriously atrocious for musical acts, so it’s not necessarily a performance you’d want to short preparation for.
the SNL stage is notoriously atrocious for musical actsCase in point: Lana Del Rey
I’m always impressed when a musical artist manages to sound good on SNL. Brandi Carlisle was great, I had never heard her before. Jack White is another (fairly) recent example.Not sorry that Ed Sheeran might be replaced as he is an automatic MUTE.
guess it depends on how many sketches they try to crowbar him into.
We need to all finally vaccinate against this scourge.Imagine going back to a world without Sheeran screwing up everyone’s lives.
Can’t believe SNL isn’t doing a Halloween episode!? That’s messed up! It’s the best episode every year and it’s the best TIME of year. Really pathetic. And then the first week was a ratings bomb! Why not just premier a week later into the month for a Halloween episode?
This is a bit much. Pathetic, really? They deserve time off the same as anyone else.
this week’s episode was ‘the halloween episode’
Probably the most popular Halloween-related sketch of recent years (David S. Pumpkins) was in a mid-October episode. They don’t really do much with Halloween.
That episode will always be cursed to me because it came right before the 2016 election 🙁
Yes, that period is pretty tough to watch for this reason, aside from some good sketches which avoid politics. There’s so little talk about some of this time I did not even remember they had an episode only a few days before, with Benedict Cumberbatch. This promo sums up the mood:
How about just don’t appear? Let’s not re-normalize the expectation that you have to show up to work when you may be contagious with something.
I didn’t know Sheeran was interesting enough to be extremely divisive.
He’s willfully divisive, but he’s still not interesting.
I had the same thought. “Divisive” suggests that he elicits strong emotions. Whenever I’ve heard him, five minutes later I’ve forgotten he existed.
He needs to isolate himself for a minimum of the rest of his life.
Better odds for the Sheeran sub: Simon or Springsteen?
The Sheeran Sub? Did they name a sandwich after him?
It’s just white bread, with thin smear of ketchup. Nothing else.
Singing hobbit gets dragon sickness
So I guess I’m the only one who’s first question was whether or not he was vaccinated? Oh OK, carry on.
I saw in that New York Post article how they were going to try to get Shawn Mendes or Justin Bieber because of similar demos to Ed Sheeran. I know it never happens anymore (aside from when they got Jack Black to perform last year – not exactly the same demo as Morgan Wallen), but I wish they could take any kind of a risk. If they pick Bieber it would mean he’s been on for three straight seasons, which must be some kind of record.
They should get Every Time I Die to replace Ed Sheeran because they just dropped a new album. I think the SNL crowd would love hearing Planet Shit live.