The Orange Julius Mix-Up Jodie Foster Can’t Forget From Her SNL Hosting Prep
Minutes before making history as SNL’s youngest host at 14 in November 1976, Jodie Foster spilled an Orange Julius on her pants — a sticky mishap she laughed off in a recent interview.
Jodie Foster has a very Jodie Foster story about hosting Saturday Night Live as a teenager: it involves an 'Orange Julius,' a last-minute wardrobe emergency, and a musical guest performance that was, let’s say, unconventional. She shared it all in a new chat during the Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s a mix of funny, awkward, and oddly sweet.
The 'Orange Julius' mishap
Foster hosted SNL in November 1976, just after turning 14. At the time, that made her the youngest host in the show’s history until Drew Barrymore took the record in 1982 at age 7. Right before Foster went on that night, disaster struck: she dropped an 'Orange Julius' on her pants about half an hour before showtime. The crew told her there wasn’t time to change, so she did her monologue while literally sticky.
"Right before I went on, like maybe a half an hour before I went on, I had what was called an 'Orange Julius'... So, the whole monologue, I was sticky."
She recounted the story to Entertainment Weekly at TIFF, sounding more amused than traumatized. Still, not exactly the pre-show ritual you want when you’re 14 and live on national TV.
Has she hosted since?
Nope. Foster says that was her one time hosting SNL. She can’t remember if she was ever asked back, and when pressed on whether she’d do it again, her answer was basically: probably not.
What she wore that night
If you’ve seen the monologue, your memory is right: khaki San Francisco Giants shirt, knee-high brown boots, dark jeans. A very specific 1976 vibe, now with bonus citrus glaze.
The Brian Wilson wrinkle
Foster also remembers the night’s musical guest: Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson. Her account paints a surreal picture, the kind of behind-the-scenes detail you only hear decades later. According to Foster, Wilson kept to himself, didn’t seem well, and had a minder with him. She doesn’t think he even came to rehearsal. He was barefoot, the crew set him and his piano in a sandbox, and then Lorne Michaels told him he’d be performing 'Good Vibrations' solo with just a piano. Foster’s take: it was... unusual.
- Wilson stayed in his trailer and didn’t talk to anyone, with a minder by his side.
- He was barefoot during the show.
- The SNL team placed his piano in a literal sandbox onstage.
- Lorne Michaels told him to do 'Good Vibrations' alone at the piano.
- Foster watched it happen and thought the one-man 'Good Vibrations' was kind of weird.
Foster, now 62 and fresh off True Detective: Night Country, didn’t sound bitter about any of it—just matter-of-fact. Sticky pants. Sandbox piano. Live TV. The 70s were wild.