Elon Musk’s debut appearance as a comedian on the popular comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live’ spawned many jokes and reactions on social media. But one of the biggest talking points of the performance apart from Dogecoin (of course) was the SpaceX CEO admitting he was the first person with Aspergers’ to be hosting SNL. On Saturday, the 49-year-old Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder and one of the world’s richest men opened his monologue by mocking his monotonal speaking style, saying no one can tell when he’s joking.
“It’s great to be hosting ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and I really mean it," said Musk standing on the stage in a black suit with a black T-shirt. “Sometimes after I say something, I have to say that I mean it."
He added, in explanation, that he is the first person with Asperger’s syndrome to host the show. “Or at least the first person to admit it,” he said during the show.
The revelation sparked several reactions on social media. Many congratulated him on his revelation and hailed him for increasing representation of people living with Asperger’s, or Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) as it is now widely called.
As someone who has Aspergers, hearing Elon proudly speak about his neurological condition in his opening remark is very inspiring. Tackling every industry by storm, from the advent of the electric vehicle; to colonizing other worlds. @elonmusk is one hell of a human being! https://t.co/pb7wQ0ZM80— Austin Barnard🚀 (@austinbarnard45) May 9, 2021
Elon Musk just crushing. And admitting proudly he has Aspergers. Good on you Elon!#IAMABLE #SNL #dogetothemoon #ElonMuskSNL pic.twitter.com/S7sa7lBMA1— Aaron Wolf (@TheAaronWolf) May 9, 2021
Kudos to @elonmusk for letting everyone know he has Aspergers and just embracing it. Huge step for the Autistic community getting the recognition they deserve.— Father of @BarstoolBigCat’s son’s mortal enemy (@CountGeoffula) May 9, 2021
But while many gave Musk’s decision to talk about his condition on the show a big “shout-out", others pointed out that his announcement, though commendable, was slightly inaccurate. Long-time fans of SNL pointed out that Musk was not the first person with ASD to appear on SNL. Many pointed out that Canadian actor and SNL veteran Dan Ackroyd who was a regular on SNL much before Musk ever appeared on the show. The Ghostbusters actor went public about being diagnosed with ASD in 2013. Ackroyd has appeared several times on SNL before Musk.
Many on social media were furious for Musk for this “erasure" as Vulture.com called it.
Elon Musk says he’s making history as the first SNL host that has AspergersThis isn’t true btw. Off the top of my head Dan Aykroyd has Aspergers & he was an original cast member as well as host who originally had the record for longest gap between leaving the cast & 1st hosting
— Andrew Prep (@Andrewprep) May 9, 2021
Dan Aykroyd was the first person with Aspergers to host SNL but whatever Elon— Eileen Mary O’Connell (@i_Lean) May 9, 2021
Dan Akroyd has #Aspergers and has hosted #SNL— Matt Karolian (@mkarolian) May 9, 2021
When Elon Musk claims he’s the first SNL host with Aspergers but he was not informed about Dan Aykroyd and Jerry Seinfeld pic.twitter.com/BPvYWmgPYv— Diamond Joe (@ItsDiamondJoe) May 9, 2021
Critics also slammed Musk for using the outdated term ‘Asperger’s" for ASD. The use of the term to signify ASD has been phased out over the years due to its Nazi legacy. Asperger’s disorder was named after Austrian Nazi scientist Hans Asperger who was first to research and identify atypical neurology, especially among children.
The term Aspergers is even phasing out as a) It's still on the spectrum so it's just ASD by another name and B) Hans Asperger was a freaking Nazi— SUEDE SAYS LISTEN TO AUTISTS (@SuedeBlade) May 9, 2021
Musk’s appearance on SNL, nevertheless, created a lot of talk on Twitter. Musk joked about his Twitter account, which has more than 50 million followers, and the tweets that led some critics to object to his being invited to host the show. In a warmer moment, Musk also brought his own mother, model Maye Musk, on stage to talk about what he was like when he was 12.
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