Pitching Taylor Swift on ‘Three Sad Virgins’ Was Like a Dream for ‘SNL’s Please Don’t Destroy
Somehow, making an SNL comedy pitch to Taylor Swift was even better than working with Paul Rudd, according to the guys in Please Don’t Destroy on a recent podcast appearance for The Wrap.
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The three friends from NYU were stoked to show up for work at 30 Rock (“Taking the elevator and looking at the floor and seeing the peacock logo — that kind of thing still feels a little magical,” marveled Ben Marshall), but working with celebrities has been even more of an out-of-body experience. “Paul Rudd was really cool,” said Martin Herlihy of one of his comedy heroes. “It was cool to see someone who was such a pro and so nice and also talking to us as peers was just like, ‘Whoa!’”
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But the whoas got bigger. “The craziest feeling for me was definitely because it was so early on was Taylor Swift, pitching her the idea of ‘Three Sad Virgins’ was the most insane thing,” explained John Higgins. “It’s like a dream that I would have. She was amazing.”
Of course, the video and its nearly 10 million YouTube views have their downside as well. “Most people on the street, they don’t know,” said Higgins. “They just see a random guy yelling at me, ‘Sad virgin!’”
Higgins, Marshall and Herlihy are Swift fans, but their own tour has kept them from seeing her Eras shows. “I think (the ‘competing’ tours) had an equal impact on the economy,” explained Higgins. “That’s what I heard.”
Please Don’t Destroy has also heard the whispers that their early success on SNL is tied to their famous connections. Herlihy’s father Tim was Adam Sandler’s college roommate and a writer on Saturday Night Live. Higgins’ pop Steve also wrote for SNL before becoming Jimmy Fallon’s sidekick on The Tonight Show. “The thing is, we get it,” said Higgins. “Like we’re so lucky to have those connections. So there was never a moment where I was like, ‘Fuck, man.’ I know how hard we work on stuff, but I also get the conversation of having connections is a huge leg up in this industry.”
“I hope the work is good enough and what we’re doing is fresh enough that there’s a place for it,” added Herlihy. “But obviously we acknowledge that beyond even connections, we have crazy privilege of being straight white guys from NYU.”
Marshall, the one member of the group without preexisting SNL ties, weighed in, too: “I also can say from firsthand experience that these dudes work crazy hard and hold themselves to a super high standard and don’t take it lightly.”
Please Don’t Destroy’s feature film debut, The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, was supposed to arrive in theaters this summer, but got bumped to a November Peacock release. No word on whether or not Taylor Swift will be making an emasculating cameo.
