The Lonely Island produced a number of the most memorable SNL sketches of all time, including “Lazy Sunday,” “D**k in a Box,” and “Laser Cats.” The comedy trio is also known for their music videos (which we’ve ranked), and produced the dirty and hilarious Natalie Portman music video sketch in 2006 called “Natalie Raps” (or “Natalie’s Rap.”) The Star Wars actress hardcore raps ironic and outrageous verses about her public image. The rap is a well-remembered segment, showcasing a previously unseen talent from Portman. However, the Saturday Night Live writers had some misgivings when the idea was first pitched to them, and Seth Meyers recently explained why he initially was worried.
Seth Meyers and The Lonely Island have a podcast, on which they break down all of the SNL Digital Shorts and how they came to be. Their most recent episode, which was shared to YouTube, focused on “Natalie’s Rap,” and the comedians chatted about how they were able to utilize the Oscar winner’s hidden talents to produce the hilarious sketch. While it ended up being a match made in heaven for SNL, there was initially an issue. Meyers explained that sometimes when celebrities want to show a different side of themselves on the sketch, it’s a recipe for disaster. The late night host said:
A lot of times actors come in and want to show the other thing they do and it turns out the reason we haven’t seen it yet is it’s bad and no one likes it.
Jorma Taccone of the Lonely Island agreed with this sentiment, which is why they were all initially worried when Natalie Portman said that she wanted to rap on the show. The comedian said:
We were very nervous when she was like, ‘I wanna rap. We were like, ‘Oh God.’
However, once Natalie Portman started spitting a “filthy” Lil’ Kim verse, the guys immediately knew they had something special on their hands and could definitely make is work. It was comedy gold, to say the least. Andy Samberg said:
And we all just started dying laughing and being like “Yeah that’ll really work, nobody’s gonna see this coming and we just immediately started writing it.
The sketch in question features heavy and aggressive cursing from Natalie Portman, which was a real subversion of her public image. At that point in her career, she was arguably best known for playing the ever earnest Padmé Amidala in Star Wars. She’s also a Harvard graduate, something that’s mentioned in the sketch as well. All in all, she was one of the most famous actresses in the world and seemingly untouchable.
Having her fully commit to a dirty, foul-mouthed rap was daring, and one can understand those early concerns. Though you can’t argue with the finished result. The group also ended up recreating the hardcore moment in 2018 when she came back to host and shared a whole new rap about Star Wars, Jar Jar Binks and more. (It would’ve been sweet if she’d come back as an SNL Season 49 host and given us “Natalie’s Rap 3.”) Check out the original sketch below:
The sketch in question features heavy and aggressive cursing from Natalie Portman, which was a real subversion of her public image. At that point in her career, she was arguably best known for playing the earnest Padmé Amidala in Star Wars. She’s also a Harvard graduate, something that’s mentioned in the sketch as well. All in all, she was one of the most famous actresses in the world and seemingly untouchable.
Having her fully commit to a dirty, foul-mouthed rap was daring, and one can understand those early concerns. Though you can’t argue with the finished result. The group also ended up recreating the hardcore moment in 2018 when she came back to host and shared a whole new rap about Star Wars, Jar Jar Binks and more. (It would’ve been sweet if she’d come back as an SNL Season 49 host and given us “Natalie’s Rap 3.”)
The continued love for the OG sketch is a testament to the genius of “Natalie’s Rap.” While the comedians may have had some reservations when the idea was first pitched to them, god bless them for hearing the actress out and going through with it. While not every celebrity’s talent is worth exploring on Saturday Night Live, this was a rare gem.
“Natalie’s Rap” is just one of the well-viewed sketches that’s hit the web, and you should read up on some of the most popular SNL clips on YouTube. You can also stream previous Saturday Night Live episodes in full now with a Peacock subscription.