Jake Novak "I Wanna Be The Next SNL Cast Member"

About

Jake Novak "I Wanna Be The Next SNL Cast Member" refers to a millennial TikToker named Jake Novak who posted a video in June 2022 that acted as his audition for Saturday Night Live. It went viral due to users perceiving it as cringe, inspiring duets and stitches. The negative attention prompted Novak to go dark, however, conspiracy theories emerged about his whereabouts, such as he started working for Disney or that he always wanted to be canceled.

Origin

On June 15th, 2022, TikToker^[1] Jake Novak (@whoisjakenovak) tagged SNL in a video that functioned as his audition. He cited the show's recent loss of many cast members like Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney. Novak namedropped these actors in the beginning and then went on to perform a show-tune-like song about why Lorne Michaels should hire him. Over the course of a month and a half, the TikTok received roughly 4.7 million plays and 139,700 likes (shown below).

I wanna be the next SNL cast member, and here's why I should be a contender. Hi, Lorne Michaels! I'm Jake Novak and I know that you're feeling the heat because your roster lost Kate, Kyle, Aidy and Pete. That means you got an open seat and I feel I oughta be fillin' it 'cause when it comes to comedy songs I kinda been killin' it. See, weekly music videos are my jam, bruh. I'm a rapid-rhymin' hammy nerd like Lin-Manuel Miranda mixed with Sammy-berg. But haven't you heard? I'm more than a rapper, I'm an actor too, so here's a couple of guys gettin' their jackets…

Spread

Immediately after uploading on June 15th, 2022, Novak's video received lots of comments from TikTokers who ironically tagged SNL and emphasized that Novak should be cast on the show. For instance, TikToker boredandboring0 commented, "@Saturday Night Live – SNL give him a cuamce" and earned over 400 likes.

On June 17th, 2022, TikToker^[2] largekyle posted a Duet with Novak's video that had text overlay reading, "is this what Jack Harlow sounds like to blac peopl." The duet received roughly 400,800 plays and 39,900 likes in one month (shown below, left). On June 18th, 2022, TikToker^[3] kasongitch also posted a Duet with Novak, however, he didn't say anything during the entire video. He wrote in the description, "people who have 0 self awareness lol," ultimately labeling Novak and his "audition" as cringy. In one month, the video received roughly 363,800 plays and 35,600 likes (shown below, right).

Jake Novak's "Children Dyin' In The Schools" Song

After Novak's SNL video went viral due to its perceivable cringe, TikTokers started digging through his profile to watch his other videos. One TikTok,^[4] uploaded on June 1st, 2022, inspired many reactions. It was about mass shootings in America, inspired by the Uvalde, Texas School Shooting that happened in late May 2022. Novak's song was pro-gun control and condemned the actions of the event. In two months, it received roughly 272,400 plays and 35,800 likes (shown below).

As stated, many TikTokers circled back to this video after the SNL upload. For instance, on June 19th, 2022, TikToker^[5] trenthadler posted a duet with it that labeled it as "corny," earning roughly 276,600 plays and 21,700 likes in one month (shown below, left). On June 23rd, 2022, TikToker^[6] vinnylocasto posted a stitch with the video, wherein, he pretended to be Lorne Michaels wanting Novak to be "casted today." This TikTok earned roughly 272,500 plays and 34,100 likes in one month (shown below, right).

Jake Novak Thirst Trap

As more TikTokers saw Novak's SNL video, they became curious about the remainder of his online presence. TikTokers surfaced his Instagram and were surprised that he had posted a shirtless picture on June 14th, 2022. Two TikTokers^[7][8] on July 4th, 2022, posted videos about the alleged "thirst trap," each earning over 150,000 plays in one month (shown below).

Where Is Jake Novak?

Jake Novak's social media presence went dark after June 15th on both TikTok and Instagram. This was most likely due to the backlash he received for the video. TikTokers started making content about Novak's absence going into July 2022. Theories and more evidence were unveiled that speculated about his whereabouts.

Jake Novak Working At Disney

One theory centered on Novak working at Walt Disneyland in California. This became evident on July 6th, 2022 when TikToker^[9] themeparksentertainment posted a stitch with Novak's SNL video, stating that she saw Novak perform as Frozen's Olaf in a live-action rendition at Disney. Her stitch received roughly 32,700 plays and 2,700 likes in four weeks (shown below, left). Then, on July 12th, 2022, TikToker^[10] baftbunk posted a video that seemingly showed Novak performing within the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet at Disneyland.^[11] This TikTok received roughly 96,700 plays and 11,900 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

Jake Novak Wanted To Get Cancelled

On July 8th, 2022, TikToker^[12] dillydingdong3 posted a video, wherein, he's green-screened in front of the thumbnail of a Jake Novak YouTube^[13] video titled, "I Wanna Get Canceled! – Funny Cancel Culture Song," that was originally uploaded on November 22nd, 2021. In his TikTok, dillydingdong3 used the video/song as evidence that Novak wanted to receive backlash for the SNL video, therefore stating, "he been playing us this whole time." The TikTok received roughly 529,400 plays and 38,600 likes in four weeks (shown below, left).

On July 12th, 2022, TikToker^[14] bamasonyt uploaded a duet that claimed he had a "Jake Novak conspiracy theory," similar to what was proposed by TikToker dillydingdong3. However, unlike dillydingdong3, bamasonyt also cited Novak's "Children Dyin' In The Schools" song. Over the course of three weeks, the TikTok received roughly 185,200 plays and 27,300 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References