Former Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell says she believes she was denied a cast member job because she’s a “big, plus-size person,” sharing how the show’s creator Lorne Michaels originally brought her in as a writer and how long she struggled to even want
Paula Pell didn’t just write jokes for Saturday Night Live—she spent years watching the door to a different kind of role stay shut. On the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast, the former SNL writer looked back at what she wanted next, and what she believes got in the way.
Pell said she suspects she wasn’t offered a cast member job because of her body. “I don’t wanna assume… I’ve heard here and there little things… We’ve all been in there when they’re picking people… but I do suspect that [it was because] I was a big lady. I was a big plus-size person,” she told host Amy Poehler.
Her timing, Pell said, came at a moment when plus-size representation on television was rare. When she joined SNL as a writer in 1995. she remembered there were early examples of performers with “more real-looking bodies. ” pointing to people like Roseanne Barr. but she still felt she didn’t fit what the show’s world considered its aesthetic. “There were starting to be people like Roseanne Barr. people that had more real-looking bodies. but I was just not of the aesthetic of that place whatsoever. ” Pell said.
Still, Pell’s answer wasn’t only about the industry. She admitted she didn’t push for the job she wanted most. “I really was such a good Catholic girl, a rule follower. … I was so afraid to ever show any desire to perform,” she said, describing how hard it was to even ask.
Pell’s start at SNL also came in a way that didn’t follow a typical audition path. Before joining the show. she had only done live performances at theme parks and theaters. and she said she never really auditioned for the SNL job. Instead. it was Lorne Michaels—SNL’s creator and executive producer—who approached her and flew her to New York for a meeting.
She recalled sitting down with Michaels after he arrived late. “I got there and [I] was terrified. [Michaels] was, like, two hours late, and I sat down with him. He started talking like we had been talking already. Like, he started in the middle of a sentence,” Pell said. She described the conversation as successful, even though she didn’t know she had been given something official.
Pell said that without receiving an offer letter, she was ultimately hired for the role that day.
She stayed with SNL as a writer until 2013, after which she built a wide range of on-screen work. Pell has appeared in shows including A.P. Bio, Girls5eva, Big Mouth, Mapleworth Murders, and currently, The ‘Burbs. She has also taken on screenwriting roles for projects including Bridesmaids and the upcoming Kim Kardashian movie, The 5th Wheel.
And when she talked about the life she’s made after SNL, Pell returned to the theme of shame being slowly, finally loosened. Discussing her busy schedule, she said, “I’m so gloriously happy to be able to perform later in my life because I finally let that out of the cage of that shame.”
Paula Pell SNL Saturday Night Live Lorne Michaels Amy Poehler Good Hang with Amy Poehler plus-size representation Roseanne Barr A.P. Bio Girls5eva Big Mouth Mapleworth Murders The ‘Burbs Bridesmaids The 5th Wheel