After a recent Saturday Night Live sketch left audiences in hysterics, Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande are opening up about the surprising kiss that wasn’t in the original script. According to Yahoo, the Emmy-nominated Yang confessed to the Grammy-winning Grande that he “opened my mouth up too much” during their unexpected kiss in the ‘Charades with Mom’ sketch, which aired when Grande hosted last month.
“Just to switch gears: I really have to apologize to you in person,” Yang joked to Grande on his podcast Las Culturistas. “I opened my mouth up too much when we kissed on SNL.”
Grande, laughing, replied, “You absolutely did! I was shaking with laughter. Not in a bad way—just in a disarming way!”
In the sketch, Yang’s character clashes with his boyfriend’s mom (played by Grande) during an intense game of charades that escalates into a comedic brawl—before an impromptu kiss to break the “crazy tension.”
The idea for the kiss, it turns out, came up independently for both stars. Grande thought of it after rehearsal, wondering if a kiss would be hilarious for the scene’s conclusion. She said, “I didn’t say anything because I thought everyone would think I was insane… but I thought, ‘How funny would it be if we kissed at the end?’” Soon after, Yang texted her the same idea.
After a “very grown-up conversation” and a dress rehearsal practice kiss, the scene came to life, with Grande humorously recalling, “It was absolutely too open. No, I’m kidding! For the characters, I think it was perfectly open.”
Their comedic chemistry and openness made the scene a standout, leaving fans eagerly awaiting more hilarious moments from the duo.