Maya Rudolph Says Social Media Criticism Is So Ugly She Couldnt Star On SNL Today

Maya Rudolph  says she wouldnt want to star on Saturday Night Live these days because theres so much criticism.

The SNL alum departed the popular show in 2007 , just as smartphones became ubiquitous and social media reactions became immediate. In an Apple Music interview Wednesday with Zane Lowe, Rudolph said the prominence of social platforms would genuinely stifle her process.

I feel like people want to take a sound bite and create problems, and thats become a business, she told Lowe . Its so ugly, and its so not at all my life. It has nothing to do with me. So it just makes you shy away from wanting to put yourself out there.

I dont think I would be creating the things I created on Saturday Night Live if I worked there today, added Rudolph. Its scrutiny.

Rudolph joined SNL in 2000, opposite talents like Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, and Tina Fey. While she has fond memories and returns Saturday for her third stint as host  Rudolph thinks the internet has robbed modern casts of the freedom she once had.

People didnt have access to the show in the way that they do now when I was on it, she told Lowe. People werent watching it from their phones the next day in just one sketch instead of watching the entire show. You would watch it in its entirety.

I stay away from [the internet], Rudolph added. I dont really want to participate in that game because its not my reality. And its like that saying of What you think of me is not my business. Its great, and its really hard to remind yourself of, but its true.

Rudolph added that sometimes things tank and argued that its probably hard for current cast members on the long-running comedy series to learn from that, as failed sketches are now immediately scrutinized online  rather than celebrated as admirable missteps by the live audience and actors.

Oh, its horrifying when its not working, but it makes you laugh really hard, and I think sometimes it makes it a little bit funnier, she told Lowe. Its absolutely brutal.