Stefon

Stefon Meyers (né Zolesky), more commonly known as Stefon, is a fictional character created by Bill Hader and John Mulaney, and portrayed by Hader on the American sketch-comedy television show Saturday Night Live (SNL). The character first appeared in a 2008 sketch in an episode hosted by Ben Affleck, then in 2010, he became a correspondent on Weekend Update, SNL's recurring satirical news segment. Stefon is based on people Hader and Mulaney encountered, including a club promoter and a barista at a coffee shop Hader frequented. Stefon is described as a "city correspondent"; when asked about recommendations for events and destinations in New York City, Stefon suggests unusual nightclubs and parties with bizarre characters and themes. Because lines for Weekend Update are read from cue cards, Mulaney changed the script before the live broadcast to make Hader break character.

This article is about the Saturday Night Live character. For other uses, see Stefon (disambiguation).

Stefon
Saturday Night Live character
The character Stefon pointing at the audience
Stefon, portrayed by Bill Hader
First appearanceNovember 1, 2008[1]
Last appearance
  • May 18, 2013 (regular)
  • March 17, 2018 (guest)
Created by
Portrayed by
In-universe information
GenderMale
TitleCity Correspondent
OccupationCorrespondent for SNL's Weekend Update
Family
  • Ms. Stefon (mother)
  • David Bowie (father)
  • David Zolesky (brother)
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children
  • Unnamed son (mentioned once)
  • Unnamed children (with Meyers; mentioned during SNL40)
NationalityAmerican

Widely regarded as Hader's most memorable character on Saturday Night Live, Stefon has become a fan favorite and has made multiple guest appearances since Hader left the show; however, the character has also been criticized due to his stereotypical nature and use of derogatory terms.

Development

Stefon was created by Saturday Night Live (SNL) writers Bill Hader and John Mulaney;[2] the character was inspired by people Hader and Mulaney had encountered; these include a club promoter who sent Mulaney an e-mail about a club that "had everything", including "rooms full of broken glass" as a highlight.[3] His voice and mannerisms are based on those of a barista at a Chelsea, Manhattan, coffee shop Hader frequented.[4][5][6]

Mulaney took inspiration for Stefon's look from 2000s club fashion and the 2003 film Party Monster.[7] He chose an Ed Hardy shirt because he assumed it would look like the fashion from the film.[8] Hader and Mulaney together created the character's idiosyncratic manner, including his exuberant descriptions of nonexistent nightclubs. They lengthened the script so Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers could comment on the exclusion of jokes.[9]

The lines for Weekend Update are read from cue cards. Mulaney habitually changed the script just before the live broadcast in an attempt to make Hader laugh during the sketch. Hader, who was forced to immediately adapt to brand-new jokes, frequently broke character by hiding his face in his hands or laughing.[7][10][11]

Character

Introduced as a "city correspondent", Stefon appears on Weekend Update to recommend unusual events and destinations for tourists.[7][12] He starts the recommendations with the phrase "New York's hottest club"[12][13] and continues with the description of the club, usually containing odd personalities such as "leprechauns that look like Farrah Fawcett",[14] "a doorman who always high-fives children of divorce",[15] or various types of midgets[2][16] described as human objects.[17][18] He has a nervous and palpable personality[19] and often touches his face, possibly due to his heavy use of recreational drugs.[4][6] Stefon wears long-sleeved Ed Hardy shirts[19] and has an asymmetrical, highlighted haircut.[20][21] His mother is named Ms. Stefon, and his father is English musician David Bowie. Stefon lives in a trash can outside a RadioShack store at the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue, and has a dog named Bark Ruffalo, parodying the name of American actor Mark Ruffalo.[22]

The book Saturday Night Live and Philosophy: Deep Thoughts Through the Decades says Stefon is an example of the issues of a technocratic elite. It stated that "[o]ur inability to understand most of Stefon’s terms illustrates how the public is at the mercy of these experts. For example, when we hear from economic forecasters predicting an economic slump, we trust them even when we don’t understand them."[23]

Appearances

Regular appearances

Stefon debuted in a sketch titled "Movie Pitch with Stefon" in 2008 as the brother of Ben Affleck's more serious character David Zolesky;[1][24] according to Hader, the idea did not work as a sketch and "was a long walk" to get to the joke.[4][25] The following season, Stefon was introduced as a correspondent on Weekend Update after an invitation from the head of the segment, Doug Abeles.[4][8] During production of his first appearance on Weekend Update, Mulaney assumed the character would be cut after rehearsal,[8] but Stefon was positively received and was invited to reappear two shows later.[10]

On the October 8, 2011, episode, Stefon appears with the character Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) from the eponymous film.[26][27]

On Weekend Update, Stefon is shown to be infatuated with Meyers; he expresses disappointment when Meyers mentions his girlfriend and calls for the audience's pity.[16] According to Mulaney, he thought it "seemed kind of natural" that Stefon would be attracted to Meyers, so he and Hader created Stefon's romance one joke at a time.[28] On the March 10, 2012, episode, Stefon kisses Meyers for the first time.[29]

The character made his last recurring appearance at the end of season 38 because Hader was leaving SNL. After Stefon's usual comment on "New York's hottest club", Meyers criticized his recommendations, making Stefon flee NBC Studios to get married. Seeing his mistake, Seth pursues Stefon to the wedding at Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue but finds Stefon is marrying Anderson Cooper.[30][31] Seth enters the church, finds Stefon, and takes him back to Studio 8H, where they proclaim their love for each other.[32] The guests at the wedding include many of the idiosyncratic people Stefon has mentioned during his Weekend Update segments.[8] Ben Affleck made a cameo appearance, reprising his role as David Zolesky from Stefon's debut sketch.[33] After Seth and Stefon return to the studio, characters from Weekend Update gather to congratulate them.[34][35] The wedding segment is a reference to the 1967 film The Graduate.[31][36][37][lower-alpha 1]

Guest appearances

In the SNL episode of February 1, 2014, Stefon returns to Weekend Update as a guest along with Amy Poehler to farewell Meyers in his final Weekend Update as Meyers prepares to become the new host of Late Night.[17] During Hader's first-time hosting of SNL the same year, Stefon returns to Weekend Update to recommend New York clubs for tourists interested in autumn and ends the sketch by announcing he is pregnant.[15][38] As part of the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015, Edward Norton portrays Stefon during the Weekend Update segment but is confronted by the real Stefon portrayed by Hader and Meyers.[39] On Hader's second-time hosting in 2018, Stefon returned to Weekend Update for a St. Patrick's Day-themed segment of New York City recommendations.[40] Stefon, who usually uses the term "midget" to describe his bizarre recommendations, did not use the term to avoid being insensitive; he consulted his attorney and "conceptual piss artist" Shy (John Mulaney) for a better term, ultimately using "little people".[14][41]

During an interview with The Guardian in 2022, Hader said SNL had suggested he reprise the role, but he declined, fearing that the character could be perceived as stereotypical.[42][43] In an interview with The Independent the following year, Hader stated he was open to playing Stefon again, saying he had not met anyone who was offended by the character.[21][44]

Outside Saturday Night Live

In December 2011, Hader (as Stefon) and Seth Meyers made an appearance at the benefit concert A Funny Affair for Autism.[45][46] They also made an appearance on the 2012 edition of Night of Too Many Stars.[47][48]

When Late Night with Seth Meyers premiered on February 24, 2014, a Stefon matryoshka doll was unveiled as part of the decor of Meyers' desk.[7][49]

Unproduced movie

Paramount Pictures began discussions for a Stefon movie.[50] The film was intended to be a mockumentary in which Stefon would visit New York hotspots as a correspondent for Weekend Update. Mulaney wanted director Garry Marshall to play Lorne Michaels.[7] Hader and Mulaney rejected the offer because, according to Hader, "in [their] mind, it never worked as a sketch".[50]

Reception

Stefon has had a generally positive reception. David Reddish of Queerty wrote that he loved Stefon "in all his messy, gay glory", and that "even though Hader is straight, he made the character vulnerable and lovable".[43] David Sims of The A.V. Club and Daniel Holloway of Variety said Stefon was one of the few recurring characters they never grew tired of.[51][52] Tess Lynch of Grantland said Meyers' and Stefon's chemistry made the character stand out.[53] According to Jordan Crucchiola of Wired, Stefon was "too funny to let go of",[54] and Brian Welk of TheWrap said that although Stefon often covers his face with his hands due to Hader breaking, it has made the character "forever endearing".[55]

Stefon's final appearance as a recurring character on Weekend Update also received praise. Zack Sharf of IndieWire considered it "one of the best sketches in recent SNL history",[56] and James Poniewozik of Time shared a similar sentiment.[57] Erik Voss of Vulture said there was "no better sendoff than a gay wedding between Stefon and Seth Meyers".[37]

Stefon has become a fan favorite and has been considered to be Hader's most memorable character on Saturday Night Live.[20][21] The character has been included in many lists of the best Saturday Night Live characters, ranking first in Rolling Stone's[58] as well as TVLine's,[59] second on MovieWeb's,[60] and third on Entertainment Weekly's.[61] Hader has frequently been approached by fans who claim to know someone who acts like Stefon.[11][62] Stefon's quotes, such as "New York's hottest club" and "This place has everything", have been used by several media sources.[lower-alpha 2]

The character has also been criticized. Joe Reid of Polygon thought that the character being written by Mulaney, who is a straight man, might be the reason why the gay community never embraced him.[68] Joanna Campbell, the former executive director of Little People of America, has condemned the character's derogatory use of the term "midget".[69] Hader has since expressed his regret for using the word.[70]

See also

References

Notes
  1. CNN said the segment is a parody of Wayne's World 2 (1993), which references The Graduate.[30]
  2. Attributed to multiple sources: Vanity Fair,[63] The Verge,[64] Vogue,[65] The Washington Post,[66] and Wired.[67]

Citations
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Works cited
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