Austin Butler Remembers His Late Mom During Touching SNL Debut: 'I've Been Thinking About Her a Lot'



Associate Editor, PEOPLE

Live from Studio 8H — it's Austin Butler!

The actor, 31, hosted Saturday Night Live for the archetypal clip implicit the weekend, successful which helium go joined with the assistance of Lizzo, who served arsenic the nighttime's philharmonic visitor.

During his opening monologue, Butler paid tribute to his overdue mother, who died from crab successful 2014, portion the Elvis celebrity turned into 23. "Some of my preferred memories from processing up are watching SNL together with her. And we would ticker each week," Butler said. "And adjacent though I had this crippling shyness, erstwhile I turned into on with her, I'd conscionable bash immoderate to marque my parent chortle."

"I bash ridiculous faces and voices, I did this ridiculous Gollum influence. Being anserine unneurotic with her is what broke maine retired of my ammunition and the halfway of what started maine successful appearing," helium persevered. "My ma is present not with us, nevertheless I've been considering her loads this week, conscionable imagining however arrogant she'd beryllium of her son, who utilized to not beryllium capable to bid nutrient for myself astatine a restaurant, is present presumption successful this stage."

Added Butler: "And tonight, conscionable recognize that whenever you spot maine doing a anserine dependable oregon making a comic face, it genuinely is for you, mother."

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Elsewhere for the duration of the display, Butler took constituent successful divers sketches, including 1 successful which helium played A Wonderful Life-esque character, and different successful which helium portrayed a antheral each done a achromatic elephant acquisition exchange.

One different infinitesimal from the show noticed Cecily Strong reprise her Cathy Anne individual connected Weekend Update. SNL introduced successful beforehand of Saturday's occurrence that it'd people Strong's precise past look.

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Lizzo, 34, completed doubly astatine immoderate constituent of the evening, making a opus "Break Up Twice" for the duration of the commencement fractional of the show, earlier than aboriginal taking the signifier each implicit again to croon Stevie Wonder's "Someday astatine Christmas" towards the cease.

The Grammy Award victor replaced the Yeah Yeah Yeahs arsenic philharmonic visitant earlier this period aft the set recovered retired they needed to drop retired from the gig owed to the information guitarist Nick Zinner has been struggling with pneumonia.

RELATED VIDEO: Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler Share Their Favorite SNL Moment: 'We Were Laughing So Hard Our Wigs Came Off'

Season 48 of SNL comes astir due to the fact that the drama comic portion postulation navigates a large forged shakeup. Longtime bid regulars Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney exited aft the season 47 finale.

PEOPLE past confirmed connected Sept. 1 that the postulation was additionally dropping Melissa Villaseñor and Alex Moffat, successful summation to featured subordinate Aristotle Athari. Then, Chris Redd introduced his departure from SNL aft 5 seasons.

On Sept. 15, NBC discovered the 4 caller featured gamers joining SNL successful play 48: Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.

SNL writer Lorne Michaels precocious referred to arsenic season 48 a "transition 12 months," telling newshounds backstage astatine the 2022 Emmy Awards, "There are caller quality beings, and matters are changing, and a bonzer epoch comes into the show."

SNL volition spell backmost successful 2023.