Ariana Grande reveals how her mom inspired “SNL” game night sketch: 'Tiny-dick syndrome, huh?'

"I was like, ‘Mom, that's intense and harmful. That's so intense!'"

Ariana Grande says her mom Joan's competitive streak ended up inspiring a Saturday Night Live sketch. 

The actress, who hosted the NBC sketch comedy show in October, explained that she messaged her Wicked costar Bowen Yang with the premise for a sketch that would go on to become “Charades With Mom” after surviving her own fiery family game night over Labor Day weekend. As Grande tells it, everything started out all fun and games until her brother-in-law Hale Grande's brother started to get a little too excited about potentially winning.

“We're playing charades and Hale’s brother, my brother-in-law's brother… was like, ‘Haha, we’re winning’ vibes. That was the extent of it was he was like, ‘Woo-hoo! We’re ahead,’” Grande recalled on a recent episode of the Las Culturistas podcast. “And my mom goes, ‘Tiny-dick syndrome, huh?’”

Related: Bowen Yang apologizes to Ariana Grande for their Saturday Night Live kiss: 'I opened my mouth too much'

The “7 Rings” singer was shocked by her mom’s quip, telling her, “Mommy, wait. That's not funny. I was like, ‘Mom, that's intense and harmful. That's so intense!’”

Thankfully, everyone at the event found her mother's comment hilarious. “We all were laughing, and, of course, [Hale's brother] laughed,” Grande said. “But she was like, ‘Well, that's a sign of what that is.’ And I was like, ‘Mommy! This is insane!’ And then I started doing it as a bit for Jesse, Hale’s other brother, and he was crying tears and it lasted the whole day. So I was like, ‘Bowen, we have to do something with this, please. It's just so silly.'"

Yang, who has starred on SNL since 2019, was equally taken aback when he heard what went down at Grande Game Night. “My jaw dropped,” he added. “I was like, ‘Joan.’"

Related: Every Saturday Night Live season 50 host and musical guest

The pair would go on to use the event as the basis for "Charades With Mom," which featured Grande as a family matriarch who starts hurling insults at her son's boyfriend (Yang) after he innocently teases her during a game of charades. After the pair's feud comes to literal blows, Grande eventually welcomes Yang into the family — and the pair even make out after all their "crazy tension."

While Grande noted that she comes from an “aggressive game-playing family,” she admitted that winning game night isn't high on her priorities list. “I’m an alien in my family a little bit, because I’m like… I don’t care,” she admitted. “I just wanna have fun and I wanna be there and I’m here for a good time.”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related: Ariana Grande reveals sweet reason why she chose to use her full name in Wicked credits

The same can’t be said for her mom, brother Frankie Grande, or his partner Hale. “Frankie can’t lose a game. Mommy can’t lose a game,” she said. “They can’t lose a game. They don’t like it.” 

Listen to Grande and Yang talk about the sketch in the podcast above.

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.