Paul Mescal has come under fire for a ‘lazy’ joke about the British after his performance on Saturday Night Live in the US last week.
Critics hit out at the Gladiator II star in the wake of his December 7 SNL monologue, framed an attempt to take on stereotypes about the Irish and concluding with a jab at Ireland’s relationship with Britain.
‘People also think the Irish hate British people,’ he said. ‘That’s not true. We just don’t consider them people.’
The comments received backlash from Irish social media users who deemed the joke ‘disastrous’ and ‘painful to watch’.
Irish Times columnist Finn McRedmond urged that the Irish move past ‘repetitive Brit-bashing tedium’ after the 28-year-old actor stirred with an opening jab about stereotypes during his host monologue on Saturday.
In her column, McRedmond urged the Irish to ‘retire’ the ‘boring, intellectually unserious and derivative’ joke and ‘work a bit harder than this’.
‘And yet it is fashionable among the least interesting to press on with the routine… and now those who go on SNL to declare that the Irish don’t consider the British to be people,’ she wrote.
‘Here we have a long list of second-hand banalities delivered with the air of people who think they are exotic iconoclasts. But of course they are not iconoclasts. They are peddlers of cliché who have mistaken their cynicism for droll humour.’
Meanwhile, Dublin-based journalist Edward White judged the skit a ‘disastrous foray into comedy’, warning the actor could find himself ‘well and truly’ off the Christmas list of ‘Guy Ritchie and every other British director’.
‘Monologue ripped straight from 1980s headlines,’ added Dr Eoin Lenihan.
The backlash comes only weeks after Mescal faced criticism for what fans deemed a ‘deeply inappropriate’ exchange over his meeting with King Charles at the London premiere of Gladiator II.
Actor Paul Mescal delivers his opening monologue on SNL in New York, on December 7, 2024
As host, Mescal kicked off Saturday Night Live on December 7 with a monologue lasting several minutes, in which he spoke on his acting roles, lack of experience in comedy, and background.
‘I do take great pride in being Irish,’ he said to an encouraging audience in New York.
‘The Irish people have been through a lot: centuries of British occupation, the Great Famine, mass emigration, that U2 album that automatically got downloaded on everyone’s phones…’
Leading into his next joke, Mescal said he hoped to clear up some ‘ugly stereotypes about the Irish’, making a self-deprecating joke about his countrymen before turning to the British.
He went on to make a joke about Americans, to laughter from the audience.
Mescal rounded off with a quip about the luck of the Irish before saying he felt lucky to be in New York, and opened the show.
Still, not all were on board with Mescal’s joke about the British.
One user said: ‘As an Irishman this was just painful to watch.’
Mescal looks on as Denzel Washington meets King Charles III as they attend the Royal Film Performance and global premiere of ‘Gladiator II’ in Leicester Square on November 13
Paul Mescal is seen on December 5, 2024, in New York City
Others disagreed. User pokeeffe wrote: ‘Get over yourselves.. its satire. Plus its our history, and how we view the British after 800 years of is our choice, thanks very much.’
Kim Riley said the monologue may have been ‘written by SNL staff’, but ‘he should have had the good sense to refuse to say that line’ in any case.
Some SNL skits are co-written with help from the show’s writing staff, although hosts have been known to do their own.
The SNL monologue controversy came weeks after Mescal received a frosty reception from fans over his comments on meeting King Charles.
Mescal was accused of ‘choosing honesty over consequences’ for his remark about meeting the royals when quizzed by American media.
Asked by Variety’s Marc Malkin how ‘wild’ it was to meet King Charles at the London premiere, a bemused Paul answered: ‘It’s never something I thought was on the Bingo cards. I’m Irish, so it’s not on the list of priorities…’
The County Kildare native continued: ‘But it’s an amazing thing for [director’] Ridley [Scott] because I know how important that is for him.
‘So to see his film celebrated in that context was pretty special.’
Asked what he said to the King, Paul shared: ‘You just kind of nod along and err… I found it kind of hard to hear what he was saying because your head is in such a frenzy.
King Charles, 75, spent the eve of his birthday watching Gladiator II at London’s Leicester Square premiere
Paul Mescal stars alongside Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington in Gladiator II
‘So you’re kind of just nodding along and smiling.’
Reacting to the exchange, fans wrote on X/Twitter: ‘I bet it was a nice experience. meeting up with a king? jeeez’
‘I genuinely think asking Irish people about the British royal family is so deeply inappropriate ngl,’ another said.
‘god i love the reactions from irish actors when they make them meet the royal family,’ said a third.
One fan on social media suggested, ‘the interviewer needs to read the room and maybe some history.’
‘That was diplomatic of him, considering,’ another added.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
