Short first told the story on an earlier episode of Amy Poehler's 'Good Hang' podcast, saying Armisen had 'completely convinced' him
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NEED TO KNOW
- Fred Armisen admits he jokingly made Martin Short think he introduced Paul McCartney as “Tony McCartney” during Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special
- Short said in an earlier interview he genuinely believed he had made the embarrassing mistake after the show
- Armisen is now clarifying that the “heightened moment” of the live show likely made the mix-up feel real
Fred Armisen is reflecting on tricking Martin Short into thinking he mistakenly introduced Paul McCartney as "Tony McCartney" at the SNL 50th.
"When I left the stage after the goodnights, he said, 'Why did you call Paul McCartney, Tony McCartney?' " Short, 76, told Amy Poehler on an episode her Good Hang podcast. "I said, 'I what? What?' Yeah, I mean you said, 'Oh, Tony McCartney.' And because I didn't know Paul was standing beside me, I thought, 'Did I?' "
Short continued: "Then I told Bill Hader this, and Bill told Fred, and Fred sent me a text a couple days ago: 'Sorry — I thought you knew that was a joke.' I literally thought I'd said Tony McCartney, the stupidest thing in the world. Tony McCartney."
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Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Armisen — who, like Short and Poehler, is a former Saturday Night Live cast member — appeared on the Tuesday, April 7 episode of the Parks and Recreation actress' podcast, where he confirmed the story. "I don't know when I'm around Martin Short … it really does feel like he's so funny. 'Let's just goof around.' It really does feel that way," he said.
"And with the Tony McCartney thing, I thought for sure, I thought he knew it, just by me talking about it, that I was joking," Armisen, 59, continued.
When Poehler, 54, asked: "But did he he actually get fooled?" Armisen responded. "Yeah. Because I guess it was a very heightened moment… And so it might have just been a moment where he thought it really happened."
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Martin appeared during the 50th anniversary special's monologue, wrapping things up by joking that if viewers were not enjoying his monologue, they should look inward and consider how they themselves were to blame. “Ask yourselves: When did I abandon joy and what can I bring to the monologue as an audience member next time?”
“All right we’ve got a great show tonight!” the comedian concluded, before listing all the famous faces viewers had seen thus far, including musical guests Sabrina Carpenter, Paul Simon and, of course, McCartney.
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