Arts & Entertainment
Harry Styles’ gay SNL sketch leads to tumult on Twitter for Sara Lee
With Harry Styles as the headliner, Saturday night’s edition of “Saturday Night Live” was guaranteed to draw a lot of gay viewers, and one sketch in particular probably made it worth the effort.
The former One Direction singer, who served as both host and musical guest on this week’s SNL, appeared in a segment (co-written by Cecily Strong, Bowen Yang, and Julio Torres) that seemed a direct nod to his gay fans, playing a gay, hyper-sexed social media manager called in by his bosses at Sara Lee Bread to discuss his off-brand Instagram posts from the corporate account.
Among the posts called to question by his superiors (portrayed by Strong and Yang) was a caption on a product photo saying, “Feeling really depressed after threesome. What was supposed to be a fantasy ended up more rejection. Must get rid of toxic in community,” a post questioning why “guys freak out when I ask them to spit in my mouth,” a string of emojis referencing “getting railed to death,” and comments on a picture of Nick Jonas reading “Wreck me daddy” and “Destroy me king.”
The sketch also featured a photo of Yang and Styles posing together in harnesses.
SNL fans went on Sara Lee’s Twitter to post their own gay comments, causing #SaraLee to trend.
Sara Lee subsequently deleted the posts, prompting Yang to tweet, “Sara Lee disabling and deleting IG comments wow they really could have been THE bread for f*gs [sad face emoji].”
According to Sara Lee’s parent company, Bimbo Bakeries USA, in a comment to the New York Post, “We didn’t participate in creating the skit and its content doesn’t align with Sara Lee Bread’s brand. But, we all know SNL pushes the envelope for laughs and we are taking it in stride.”
The 25-year-old Styles has a long history of teasing his LGBTQ following, prompting Rolling Stone magazine to note that he “likes to cultivate an aura of sexual ambiguity.” He is known for waving rainbow flags at his concerts with the inscription “Make America Gay Again,” and told a fan at the final show of his 2018 World Tour in Los Angeles, “we’re all a little bit gay.” He has also been vocal in his support for the LGBTQ community, such as telling a French talk show in 2017 that “LGBT equality is fundamental, not political,” and has resisted interviewers who have asked him to put a label on his sexuality.
The October-dropped single and accompanying video for “Lights Up” (from Styles’ newest solo album, “Fine Line,” set to be released December 5) was called by Cosmopolitan, “clearly a bisexual anthem,” and LGBTQ fans have noted the pop singer’s prominent display of bisexual pride colors in social media post of the new album’s cover.
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The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
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