For the first time in 45 seasons, Saturday Night Live is set to have a drag queen host the weekly variety special.

RuPaul has been announced as the host of SNL on February 8th, alongside Justin Beiber as the episode’s musical guest.

SNL hosts traditionally present an opening monologue before joining the cast of players in a series of comedy sketches throughout the episode.

RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a favourite among SNL writers of late, with drag gags appearing more frequently in recent seasons.

Hosting SNL is considered a great honour in the US entertainment community – with previous hosts including on-screen icons ranging from Alec Baldwin to Steve Martin, Tina Fey to Candice Bergen.

No word yet whether or not RuPaul will actually be hosting the show in drag, after appearing as himself more and more in recent years. Most recently, RuPaul stars in Netflix’s AJ and the Queen; both in and out of wigs.

OIP Staff