Bill Hader's Fans Want Answers As ‘SNL 50’ Continues to Leave Him Off the Guest List

This Sunday, February 16th, Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live will celebrate a half-century on the air alongside a cavalcade of A-listers and legendary alumni, but one SNL great likely won’t be at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for SNL 50 — he’ll probably be at New York’s hottest club instead.

If the SNL fandom were to rank their favorite comedic character actor in the show’s history, it’s hard to imagine that Bill Hader, the character-breaking chameleonic powerhouse who graced the stage of Studio 8H from 2006 to 2013, would possibly end up far from the top of the list. In fact, earlier this month, the SNL Twitter account challenged fans with a February Madness-style bracket where viewers could vote in head-to-head matchups in order to determine the most beloved SNL original character ever, and Hader’s iconic, unhinged socialite Stefon came out of the contest as the all-time champion.

Nevertheless, when SNL announced the names of honored veterans who will take part in Sunday’s anniversary special yesterday afternoon, Hader Heads noticed that there was about a 6-foot-1-sized, bespectacled hole in the guest list where Herb Welch should be:

So far, the cast list for SNL 50 looks like the inductees for the comedy hall of fame. Between SNL alumni Laraine Newman, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Molly Shannon, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Pete Davison, Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Kate McKinnon, Andy Sandberg, Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson, Jason Sudeikis and Chris Rock, Sunday’s show will certainly not lack star power.

At the same time, it’s strange that Hader, fresh off of his critically beloved run on Barry and still one of the most talked-about SNL stars online over a decade after he left the show, is nowhere to be seen on the giant hanging Post-It Notes that some artificial intelligence program likely plastered around New York City. And, considering the fire with which Hader’s fans have responded to the omission, Michaels may very well be alienating a large portion of SNL’s most passionate fans.

Right now, Hader stans are hard at work decoding the disrespectful absence of his hallowed name from the SNL 50 alumni announcement, with many believing that Hader’s criticism of SNL’s work culture and Michaels himself may have something to do with the decision. Hader recently opened up about his struggles with anxiety and constant panic attacks during his time on the show, revealing that Michaels once delivered the worst advice you could possibly give an employee who is in the midst of a massive panic attack.

Simultaneously, however, some fans believe that Hader isn’t on the official SNL 50 alumni list because Michaels wants to bring out one of his brightest stars as a special surprise. After all, why else would a man in his mid-40s ever shave his face?

Whatever the reason for Hader not being included on in the SNL 50 promotions, if this is the biggest controversy to come out of the anniversary show, SNL fans should count their blessings. God knows what will happen when Chevy Chase steps into a room with that many people who are way funnier than him.