RuPaul to host Saturday Night Live for the first time

Studio 8H to become Studio 8Henny when the RuPaul's Drag Race host sashays to SNL with Justin Bieber.

Just as we suspected, the “H” in “Studio 8H” absolutely stands for “Henny.”

At least that will be the case on Feb. 8, when RuPaul sashays into New York City’s Rockefeller Center to host Saturday Night Live for the first time.

NBC announced Tuesday that the Emmy-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race icon, recording artist, actor, and drag superstar will front the episode, with Justin Bieber as musical guest. RuPaul and Bieber’s episode will fall one week after NFL star J.J. Watt and country artist Luke Combs front the Feb. 1 show.

RuPaul’s SNL gig — his debut hosting slot, though he appeared during a sketch in 1993 episode hosted by Charles Barkley — marks the latest in a series of recent career highs for the 59-year-old, after the Jan. 10 premiere of Netflix’s 10-episode dramedy AJ and the Queen (his first leading role in a scripted series) and last year’s announcement that Drag Race would return for season 12, All-Stars 5, and the new Celebrity Drag Race edition throughout 2020. The Drag Race reality competition series brand will also expand even further around the world in the coming months, with the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK set to bow by the end of the year as well.

“You never know where that next big idea is coming from,” RuPaul recently told EW. “You have to be willing to look for it and leave space and room in your consciousness for it to have a seat.”

Watch RuPaul’s SNL debut Saturday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Related content:

Related Articles