Saturday Night Live: Jason Bateman Gets Confused on Who Morgan Wallen Is

As it turns out, Jason Bateman might not know entirely who's helping him on Saturday Night Live [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

As it turns out, Jason Bateman might not know entirely who's helping him on Saturday Night Live this weekend. In a promo video the show's official social media account shared Saturday, Bateman playfully teases the rising country music star, jokingly mistaking him for SNL mainstay Heidi Gardner. Bateman is hosting tonight's episode, his second such gig in the history of the show. The Arrested Development star had previously hosted an episode in early 2005, now over 15 years ago.

Wallen has seen his popularity within the past year, largely thanks in part to his release of "7 Summers," his first-ever Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 chart. The track ended up peaking as number six. The timing works well for the artist as he has a sophomore album due out in a matter of weeks — Dangerous: The Double Album is due out on January 8th.

The artist was originally supposed to appear in an episode earlier this season, except the show's producers decided to remove him from his slot as a musical guest after videos surfaced showing him in attendance at crowded college parties, a clear violation of Saturday Night Live's current COVID policies.

"I'm in New York City, in a hotel room, I was getting ready for SNL this Saturday, and I got a call from the show letting me know that I will no longer be able to play, and that's because of COVID protocols, which I understand," Wallen said in a lengthy Instagram post this October.

He continued, "I'm not positive for COVID but my actions this past weekend were pretty short-sighted, and they have obviously affected my long-term goals and my dreams. I respect the show's decision because I know that I put them in jeopardy, and I take ownership for this. I'd like to apologize to SNL, to my fans, to my team for bringing me these opportunities, and I let them down. And on a more personal note, I think I have some growing up to do. I think I've lost myself a little bit. I tried to find joy in the wrong places and, I don't know, it's left me with less joy so I'm going to go try and work on that."

"I'm going to take a step back from the spotlight for a little while and go work on myself. I wish I could have made country music and my fans proud this Saturday, but I respect the decision once again."

New episodes of Saturday Night Live air Saturday nights on NBC beginning at 11:30 p.m. Eastern.

Cover photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for CMA

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