Saturday Night Live viewers convinced two cast members are secretly dating after spotting hidden clues
Fans are speculating over a potential relationship between cast members Emil Wakim and Ashley Padilla, with the pair spotted in several behind-the-scenes snaps together.
Wakim, 27, and Padilla, 31, were both new additions to the season 50 cast of the long-running sketch comedy series.
While neither party has shared any insight into who they are dating, eagle-eyed fans think they have picked up on some chemistry between the castmates - and couldn't help but share their thoughts online.
'They're in the back together too I'm crying. They're always together,' one observant user commented on a photo showing the duo in the background.
'Not that I'm feeding into rumors or anything but it is shocking that there hasn't been many couples who met through the cast,' wrote another.
'I'm very much about the rumors…' quipped another.
'Genuinely crazy how this has been a deluded inside thought for months but turns out most were riding the same wave,' chimed in someone else.
Wakim and Padilla's inclusion in the cast was announced in September 2024.
Wakim - a Lebanese-American comedian - grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, and became the first ever cast member born in the 21st Century.
He has opened for comics such as Nikki Glaser, Roy Wood Jr., Kyle Kinane, Hasan Minaj and Neal Brennan, and was picked as a New Face of Comedy at the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal.
Padilla, originally from San Francisco, was a member of The Groundlings troupe, where she's been part of the Main Company since 2021.
She has guest-starred on Night Court and Curb Your Enthusiasm and also starred in the comedy Summer Camp with Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard.
It's not only potential romances that SNL fans are speculating over, with some hypothesizing who they think may not return for season 51 of the show.
Last week, some people shared why they are convinced that after 20 years, Colin Jost is gearing up to leave Saturday Night Live.
Jost, 42, joined the comedy show in 2005 during season 31 as a writer. Over the years he rose through the ranks, becoming a writing supervisor and then co-head writer alongside Seth Meyers in 2012.
Wakim (pictured center) a Lebanese-American comedian - grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and becomes the first ever cast member born in the 21st Century
Fans think they've picked up on some chemistry between the castmates - and couldn't help but share their thoughts online
Currently, Jost serves as the co-anchor of Weekend Update with Michael Che.
Earlier in the week, talk show host Bill Maher called out liberal writers on Saturday Night Live, taking offense at the show's portrayal of a MAGA voter.
Maher took to his podcast with Jillian Michaels to slam a bit that aired during SNL's 50th anniversary special in February.
Tom Hanks made a return in the show as Doug, a clueless rube wearing a Make America Great Again hat, and performs surprisingly well on a mock game show called Black Jeopardy.
Hanks first appeared as Doug on Black Jeopardy! in 2016 in an effort to depict both the differences and similarities between Trump voters and black culture.
However, Maher joined the countless others who took offense at the show's portrayal of a MAGA voter, after Michaels said that while Hanks is 'lovely' in person, the sketch crossed a line.
'I hated it too, and I said it on my show. I know. I hated it. Wearing the MAGA hat, not shaking hands with a Black person. And that's when I thought, 'You people don't know MAGA people,' Maher said.
'I mean, they have their issues and I certainly have my issues with them, but they're general - I mean, of course, there's some racists everywhere who are that bad, but generally, all the MAGA people I know have no problem shaking hands with a Black person.'
He described the writers of the sketch as 'hysterical' and 'not helping' their left-leaning causes and accused them of spreading a 'zombie lie,' or passing off old, outdated conventional wisdom as the truth.
'It's a lie that MAGA people won't shake hands with - I get it, it's part of a skit, and it's exaggeration, and that's comedy. It's a little too delicate a subject to just make - to go there for that one,' Maher continued.
He added that, while sometimes, comedians will make a joke that they regret, the writers of the sketch likely have no issue with what they said.
'You know, look, we all in comedy step over the line sometimes or do one that they want to take back. I doubt if they want to take that one back. I think they probably think it's great,' he told Michaels.
He was also offended because, 'as a liberal,' Maher believes that the premise to a joke has to have some sort of truth.
'It might have rang true, I don't know, X years ago. It doesn't now. So, you know - but that's where we are. Everybody has to just play the hate card, because that's what gets clicks. That's what gets you loved by your side,' he added.
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