An Investigation: Were Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner Actually Annoyed During 'SNL50'?

On Sunday night’s SNL50 special, there’s a moment in one of John Mulaney’s numbers where Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte start sing-shouting at each other. Unfortunately for Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner, they’re stuck right between them.

Kevin Costner and Jenna Ortega stuck between Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte at #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/XqD6KzIl7m

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 17, 2025

Moments later, Kristen Wiig eggs the two men into kissing, and once again, Ortega and Costner are caught in the crossfire.

Kinda seems like Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner regret going to SNL50.

pic.twitter.com/TVUa9Z5q8b

— Mario Moretto (@mmoretto207) February 17, 2025

Naturally, a segment of social media became convinced that Ortega and Costner’s annoyance was real and that they weren’t in on the joke.

You know, I know, and most of us understand this was a bit. The dead giveaway isn’t just the exaggerated reactions or even Sudeikis clearly pushing his palm into Ortega’s head for comedic effect. It’s the seating chart.

How do we know for sure this was staged? Because earlier in the night, Kevin Costner was sitting next to Cher.

Costner was moved specifically for this bit because — let’s be honest — “annoyed guy who’s too old for this sh**” is a role he was born to play. That it also involved Jenna Ortega just made it all the better. And if you missed it, whoever handled the original seating clearly took Costner’s love of Cher’s Friday night SNL concert performance into account.

Billy Crystal and Kevin Costner being in awe of Cher as she performs at the #SNL50 concert

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— JBberrygirl 🧿🪬🧘🏾‍♀️🌍 (@jbberrygirl.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 12:04 PM