Jesse Eisenberg Says He Has 'Only Bad Memories' of Hosting “SNL”: 'I Did Such a Dumb Thing'

Jesse Eisenberg's Saturday Night Live hosting gig still haunts him.

During a Feb. 10 appearance on Today with Jenna & Friends, Eisenberg reflected on hosting the iconic sketch comedy show in 2011. While it was one of his biggest accomplishments, the actor, 41, said he made one mistake that tainted his memories of the experience.

“I think they said it was the best episode they ever did,” he began. “I only have bad memories because I did such a dumb thing. My dream when I was 17 was to write for SNL. I made a packet and everything and I got an agent. And then, when I got asked to host, which was 10 years later, I assumed I could write all the sketches. I didn’t know how it works. It turns out, they have writers.”

He continued: “I didn’t realize — I’m an idiot — and I was also just wanting to write. I’ve wanted to write my whole life. So I spent the week slipping scripts to different actors. I didn’t realize that was not the way you do that.”

When host Jenna Bush Hager asked if any of the skits Eisenberg wrote made it into the show, he said it was entirely his fault.

“It was so unbelievably inappropriate and offensive of me that, no,” he said.

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Bush Hager’s guest host Amy Poehler, who used to be a cast member on SNL, added: “You kind of worked too hard. Which is not, you know, if you’re going to go one way, it’s better to go that way than the other way.”

“Not according to the people who wrote the show!” Eisenberg quipped. “They wished I went the other way.”

He later claimed he was even “told by somebody” — who Poehler said was “obviously an enemy” — that writing his own skits was fine.

“It turns out I was sabotaged,” he joked. “I was assured, ‘Yes, of course. That sounds great,’ they said."

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Eisenberg also remembered working with Nicki Minaj, who was the musical guest on his episode. In the years since, he revealed the two have kept in touch.

“We text,” he said, joking that “she sometimes asks me to introduce her, as you’re supposed to as a host.”

“I’ll go to [Madison Square] Garden and say, ‘Next up, it’s Nicki Minaj,” he said as Poehler laughed.

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“We do need to see some sort of collaboration!” Bush Hager chimed in.

“That’s what I’ve been pitching, too,” Eisenberg replied. “Once again, I was working too hard.”

Bush Hager continued: “As you get back to the writer’s desk and you’re writing your next film, let’s write a part for her.”

“That would be great. Yeah, sure,” Eisenberg teased.

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