Shannon joined Stone onstage at ‘SNL50: The Anniversary Special’ on Sunday, Feb. 16 by reprising her iconic character Sally O’Malley
Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special is bringing back Sally O’Malley!
Molly Shannon reprised her iconic character for the SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Sunday, Feb. 16. As Emma Stone took the stage to introduce the best moments of physical comedy on the show, Shannon wandered on in a standout red outfit and leopard print purse.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sally O’Malley,” she declared. “I’m proud to say I’m 50 years old — just like Saturday Night Live!”
“Emma, she’s not one of those gals who’s afraid to tell her real age and she likes to kick, stretch and kick,” Shannon continued, demonstrating the moves.
Stone then chimed in, saying, “Please enjoy this video celebrating 50 years of physical comedy on SNL while we…”
“Kick,” the two said in unison before Stone narrowly avoided the slit in the side of her dress exposing too much as they performed the next “stretch and kick.”
Shannon first introduced the energetic and eager Sally O’Malley — who is proudly 50 years old and likes to “kick and stretch and kick!” in 1999. In the years since, she has made several recurring appearances on the iconic series.
In January, Shannon, along with comedians Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang, spoke with PEOPLE ahead of the 50th anniversary special. When talking about Sally O’Malley, the trio reflected on the laughs the character has brought to SNL fans over the years.
“Molly, you eat it up every single time,” Thompson said. “And my favorite is when you say, ‘Stretch.’ Because it’s like the ‘kick’ is intense. You’re having such a good time doing the dance of your gift.”
“I turned 50 last year, and 15 different SNL people texted me that it was time to ‘kick and stretch,’” Meyers added.
Shannon then revealed the origin of Sally.
“This is not funny at all, but my dad was very badly injured in an automobile accident and he had to learn to walk again,” she explained. “The character is based on his limp. That’s me imitating my dad. She’s like, ‘I can’t,’ but then she fools people. She’s got power. She can f— you all.”
While cast members sometimes miss out on the full experience of watching the sketches, Meyers said Sally brought him one of his favorite behind-the-scenes moments on the show.
“Sometimes we get to witness something the audience doesn’t. I guess it was the Betty White show, and Molly, you did Sally O’Malley,” he recalled. “You were pulling your pants up, and Amy [Poehler] and I were at the Weekend Update desk. The audacity and the joy. We were so lucky to have that vantage point. That was one of my favorite moments.”
SNL50: The Anniversary Special airs on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. on NBC and streams on Peacock.