Stefon Meyers (né Zolesky[a]) is a fictional character portrayed by Bill Hader on the American sketch-comedy television show Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Because lines for Weekend Update are read from cue cards, Mulaney constantly changed the script prior to the live broadcast to make Hader break character.

Stefon was created by American sketch-comedy television show Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member Bill Hader and writer John Mulaney.

[10][1] It was well received, leading Hader and Mulaney to write a similar sketch featuring Stefon when Bradley Cooper hosted the show.

[10] Doug Abeles, the head writer of Saturday Night Live's satirical news segment Weekend Update, suggested that the character should be introduced as a correspondent on the feature instead.

They wrote long scripts so SNL head writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers could pick which jokes to include.

[18] Hader also attributed his frequent corpsing as Stefon to the character's animated personality, which made him immerse himself in the role and lose his composure.

Hader had written notes the year prior for it to be a prerecorded sketch where Meyers interrupts Stefon's wedding with journalist Anderson Cooper, similar to the 1967 film The Graduate.

The idea was not enthusiastically received by the staff, including SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels, due to them believing that Stefon worked better as a live sketch.

Meyers instead recommended that Stefon appear on Weekend Update as usual before the character flees, followed by the original skit for a sense of surprise.

Another suggestion for Stefon's final appearance was for him to board a spaceship and return to his home planet with his boyfriend, but this was abandoned in favor of the initial idea.

[17] Introduced as a "city correspondent", Stefon appears on Weekend Update to recommend unusual destinations for tourists travelling to New York.

"[34] In the book Saturday Night Live and Philosophy: Deep Thoughts Through the Decades, Kati Sudnick and Erik Garrett mention Stefon as an example of the issues of a technocratic elite.

"[35] According to anthropologists Britt E. Halvorson and Joshua O. Reno in their book Imagining the Heartland: White Supremacy and the American Midwest, the character's absurdity highlights the divide between open-minded and narrow-minded perspectives.

[40][41] Stefon appeared on Weekend Update again during an episode hosted by Paul Rudd in December 2010, where the character performed an altered version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as part of his appearance,[42][43] and the next episode, where he performed "O Christmas Tree" with other recurring characters, David Paterson (Fred Armisen) and Snooki (Bobby Moynihan).

[68] On Hader's second time hosting in 2018, Stefon returned to Weekend Update for a St. Patrick's Day-themed segment of New York City recommendations.

[24][70] During an interview with The Guardian in 2022, Hader said SNL had suggested he reprise the role, but he declined due to the political climate at the time and fearing that the character could be seen as stereotypical.

[81] Meyers had pitched that the movie would start with his character dead since he assumed he would not be starring in the film,[82][83][84] and Mulaney wanted director Garry Marshall to portray SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels.

[85] David Reddish of Queerty wrote that he loved Stefon "in all his messy, gay glory" and that "even though Hader is straight, he made the character vulnerable and lovable".

Zack Sharf of IndieWire considered it "one of the best sketches in recent SNL history",[92] while Erik Voss of Vulture said there was "no better sendoff than a gay wedding between Stefon and Seth Meyers".