Paul Mescal has come under fire for his ‘lazy’ joke about the Brits after his appearance on Saturday Night Live in the US last week.
Critics attacked the Gladiator II star in the wake of his December 7 SNL monologue, in which he attempted to accept stereotypes about the Irish and ended with a joke about Ireland’s relationship with Britain.
“People also think the Irish hate the British people,” he said. ‘That’s not true. We just don’t think of them as people.’
The comments received backlash from Irish social media users who found the joke ‘disastrous’ and ‘painful to watch’.
Irish Times columnist Finn McRedmond urged the Irish to move past “repetitive Brit-bashing boredom” after the 28-year-old actor made an opening talk about stereotypes during his guest monologue on Saturday.
In her columnMcRedmond urged the Irish to “retire” the “boring, intellectually unserious and derivative” joke and “work a little harder than this.”
“And yet it is fashionable among the least interesting people to continue the routine… and now those who go on SNL to declare that the Irish do not regard the British as human beings,” she wrote.
‘Here we have a long list of second-hand banalities, delivered with the air of people who think they are exotic iconoclasts. But of course they are not iconoclasts. They are cliché salesmen who have mistaken their cynicism for funny humor.’
Dublin-based journalist Edward White assessed the sketch a ‘disastrous foray into comedy’, warning that the actor could be ‘well and truly’ off the Christmas list of ‘Guy Ritchie and every other British director’.
“Monologue straight from the headlines of the 1980s,” added Dr Eoin Lenihan.
The response comes just weeks after Mescal was criticized for what fans deemed a “highly inappropriate” altercation following his meeting with King Charles at the London premiere of Gladiator II.
Actor Paul Mescal delivers his opening monologue on SNL in New York, December 7, 2024
As host, Mescal kicked off Saturday Night Live on December 7 with a several-minute monologue in which he talked about his acting roles, lack of experience in comedy and background.
“I’m very proud to be Irish,” he told an encouraging audience in New York.
‘The Irish people have been through a lot: centuries of British occupation, the Great Famine, mass emigration, that U2 album automatically downloaded onto everyone’s phones…’
Ahead of his next joke, Mescal said he hoped to clear up some “ugly stereotypes about the Irish”, making a self-deprecating joke about his countrymen before turning to the British.
He then made a joke about Americans, to laughter from the audience.
Mescal wrapped up by joking about the luck of the Irish before saying he was lucky to be in New York and opened the show.
Yet not everyone agreed with Mescal’s joke about the British.
One user said: ‘As an Irishman this was just painful to watch.’
Mescal watches Denzel Washington meet King Charles III as they attend the Royal Film Performance and Global Premiere of ‘Gladiator II’ in Leicester Square on November 13
Paul Mescal will be seen on December 5, 2024 in New York City
Others disagreed. User pokeeffe wrote: ‘Get over yourself.. it’s satire. Besides, it is our history, and how we view the British after 800 years is our choice, thank you very much.”
Kim Riley said the monologue may have been “written by SNL staff,” but “he should have had the good sense to refuse to say that line anyway.”
Some SNL skits are co-written with help from the show’s writing staff, although the hosts have been known to do their own work.
The SNL monologue controversy came weeks after Mescal received a icy response from fans for his comments about meeting King Charles.
Mescal was accused of choosing ‘honesty over consequences’ for his comment about the meeting with the royal family when questioned by the US media.
When asked by Variety’s Marc Malkin how “wild” it was to meet King Charles at the London premiere, a bewildered Paul replied: “It’s never something I thought was on the bingo cards.” I’m Irish so it’s not on the priority list…’
The County Kildare native continued: “But it’s amazing for (director) Ridley (Scott) because I know how important that is to him.
“So it was quite special to see his film celebrated in that context.”
When asked what he said to the king, Paul replied, “You just kind of nod along and err… I found it kind of hard to hear what he said because your head is so confused.
King Charles, 75, spent the eve of his birthday watching Gladiator II at its premiere in London’s Leicester Square
Paul Mescal stars alongside Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington in Gladiator II
“So you just nod along and smile.”
In response to the exchange, fans wrote on X/Twitter: “I bet it was a fun experience. meet a king? gosh
“I really think asking Irish people about the British Royal Family is so inappropriate,” said another.
“God I love the reactions of Irish actors when they make them meet the Royal Family,” said a third.
One fan on social media suggested: ‘The interviewer needs to read the room and maybe some history.’
“That was diplomatic of him, considering,” another added.