Have you met Domingo? He’s from Miami, has a hot tub, and is simply irresistible to the ladies. If you’re not familiar, then you’re probably not up to date with Saturday Night Live this season. “Bridesmaids Speech” and “Baby Moon,” the two sketches featuring Marcello Hernandez’s suave Latin mystery man, have been viral sensations for the late night sketch series, racking up over 12 million views on YouTube and leading to a surprise Domingo appearance at a Sabrina Carpenter concert stop. Curious why Domingo is the talk of the town? Here’s the story.
It all began with a very talented, multi-hyphenate SNL host. Global pop sensation and Wicked star Ariana Grande was tapped to host the October 12th episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Stevie Nicks. Perhaps because Grande was only serving as host, SNL powers decided to fill her sketches with as many musical moments as possible, resulting in a sung-through opening monologue; a digital music video sketch, “My Best Friends House;” her impressive Celine Dion impression; and even a sketch where she played a eunuch named Antonio. But the sketch that popped the most that evening was “Bridesmaids Speech,” which also contained an unforgettable musical moment.
Written by SNL scribes Sudi Green, Ceara O’Sullivan, Jimmy Fowlie, and newbie Allie Levitan, “Bridesmaids Speech” found Grande giving—you guessed it—a nuptial toast to her half-sister Kelsey, played by Chloe Fineman, alongside other bridesmaids played by Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, and Sarah Sherman. The twist? The bridesmaids set their collective speech to the song of the summer, Carpenter’s Grammy-nominated ear worm “Espresso.” During their speech toast, the bridesmaids reveal that Kelsey may have had a little too much fun on their bachelorette party in Miami with a handsome stranger named Domingo, much to the chagrin of Kelsey’s now-husband, Matthew (Andrew Dismukes).
“In the bathroom, we take her outside / She says don’t worry, we won’t cross the line,” sings Grande, in a brown wig and velvet dress. “Think of your fiance. She says, ‘Good reminder’ / Hands me her ring, then we can’t find her,” sing Sherman and Nwodim. As the song gets increasingly more graphic and detailed, Matthew gets more and more agitated—until Domingo himself makes a surprise appearance at the wedding.
Wearing a wig and a weird little goatee, Hernandez’s Domingo sings of his brief fling with Kelsey. “Hey Matt, came all this way, had to explain direct from Domingo / Kelsey’s my friend, she’s like my sis, but we did hook up though,” he sings. Strange facial hair or not, it’s clear Domingo’s got that swag.
“Bridesmaids Speech” currently has over 11 million views on YouTube, and has gone viral multiple times on TikTok, with even the behind the scenes footage from the rehearsal of the sketch going viral as well. While appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Sherman shared when she knew that “Bridesmaids Speech” would be a smashing success “Everyone’s laughing, we’re loving it,” she said. “And then, when Ariana Grande did bad singing at blocking rehearsal? Everyone was like, ‘Ohhhh… This is funny!’”
It was so funny that they brought Domingo and the bridesmaids back for a second sketch on November 18 that incorporated a different pop star host: Charli XCX. In the new sketch, “Babymoon,” Kelsey is—wait for it—pregnant and at her baby shower with husband Matthew, who apparently stuck around despite the Domingo of it all. XCX fills in for Grande, playing Kelsey’s cousin, and delivers a rousing speech with Kelsey’s besties, a.k.a the Kel-squad, a.k.a Nwodim, Sherman, and Gardner, who have yet another musical speech to share with their beloved friend. This time it’s set to Chappel Roan‘s rousing anthem “HOT TO GO”—and whoever at SNL realized that H-O-T-T-O-G-O has the same scansion as D-O-M-I-N-G-O deserves some kind of award.
“D-O-M-I-N-G-O / Kelsey’s texting Domingo,” sing the ladies in unison. As the song continues, we learn that Kelsey is pregnant with twins, one of them Matthew’s one of them Domingo’s—a biological improbability, at best. At the end of “Babymoon,” out pops Domingo himself, who has a message for the parents-to-be: “Hey Matt, my brother. Aren’t you happy? Direct from Domingo, we both are daddies.” The sketch ends with the Domingo, Kelsey, and Matthew dancing with the Kels-squad—a salient reminder that a family can look like anything.
It seems lightning strikes twice, at least when Domingo is involved. “Babymoon” got over 2 million views on YouTube in a little over 48 hours. But SNL wasn’t Domingo’s only stop over the weekend. Hernandez also caught a red eye and appeared in Domingo drag at Carpenter’s “Short and Sweet” tour stop in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 17th. In a moment that’s currently going viral on Tik Tok, Carpenter ‘arrested’ Domingo for being so darn good looking during her song “Juno.” Domingo’s last words? “Came all the way/Had to explain/Direct from Domingo/Sabrina’s a friend/She’s like my sis/But I would hook up though.” Given his popularity and raw animal magnetism, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing more Domingo in the future.
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