Saturday Night Live sparked a firestorm of criticism from Stranger Things fans over the weekend after airing a sketch that took aim at two beloved characters from the hit Netflix series in a way many viewers called shocking and inappropriate.
The sketch, titled 'Mike in Manhattan', starred SNL host Finn Wolfhard — reprising his Stranger Things role as Mike Wheeler — alongside his former co‑stars Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson).
The bit attempted to imagine what the characters were doing a decade after the events of the show’s fifth and final season.
Set in a restaurant with Wolfhard’s Mike writing at a table in classic Sex and the City fashion, the sketch kicked off with a monologue that set the tone: “And just like that, I was in a new Upside Down, New York, and it doesn’t take a hive mind to know that after you’ve dated an Eleven, even 10s fall short,” Wolfhard read aloud.
Lucas and Dustin’s Cringe Sex Life Confessional
The scene took an even more controversial turn when McLaughlin and Matarazzo joined Wolfhard at the table with Cosmopolitan cocktails, launching into a frank discussion of their characters’ sex lives.
“Well, Max and I started off hot and heavy, right?” McLaughlin, as his Stranger Things character Lucas, shared. “Then, a couple of years in, she just lies there like she’s back in that coma.”
In the actual series, Lucas dates Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, and Max ends up in a coma after confronting the villain Vecna at the end of Season 4, remaining in that state for much of Season 5.
Fans Slam ‘Disgusting’ and ‘Weird’ Joke
Many fans took to social media to voice their disappointment with the “disgusting” and “weird” nature of the joke about Lucas and Max’s sex life.
“What kind of game was going on on SNL? These jokes were so flat and disgusting,” one person tweeted. “Caleb jokes about Max and Lucas’ sex life, saying she’s in a coma. Dude, what the f**k?”
Another added: “They made a joke about Lucas having sex with unconscious Max on SNL. What has this show come to?”
“Sorry, but that coma ‘joke’ was f*ing weird to me,” commented a third, while a fourth shared: “That Max coma joke. SNL, you’re weird for that one!”
Controversial Will Byers Joke Ignites More Criticism
The backlash didn’t stop there. The sketch also referenced another widely discussed moment from the final season of Stranger Things — Will Byers’ emotional coming‑out scene.
SNL explained that Will, played in the sketch by cast member Jeremy Culhane, couldn’t join Mike, Lucas, and Dustin because “his coming‑out scene is still going on.”
The sketch then cut to a parody of that pivotal monologue: “Guys, I’m gai-ning the courage to tell you the truth, and the truth is I’m gai-zing at all of your faces, and you should know that I like D…and D – Dungeons and Dragons, just like you guys,” Will said in the SNL bit.
Fans took issue with what they saw as disrespectful treatment of the scene.
“Just saw the latest episode of SNL, they made fun of Will’s coming out scene,” one person tweeted. “Well it’s not funny at all, not respectful at all. Especially the other three boys were present without Noah. I think they should apologize to both Noah Schnapp and Will Byers.”
Another wrote: “F**k SNL I’m so sick of queer ppl being the butt of everyone’s f**king joke. Will Byers u deserved better, and sorry Noah that u had to go through hours of torture filming that coming out scene for everyone to treat it like a joke.”