Spirit Halloween Claps Back at SNL After Premiere Sketch Dig

Spirit Halloween is clapping back at Saturday Night Live for making fun of the costume store during a recent sketch.

After the late-night comedy series featured a segment that made light of the Halloween retail store during their Saturday, September 28, season 50 premiere, Spirit Halloween took to social media to throw some subtle shade of their own.

“We are great at raising things back from the dead @nbcsnl,” the store’s official X page captioned a photo of a costume titled “Irrelevant 50-Year Old TV Show.” The package for the costume claimed it included “dated references,” “unknown cast members” and “shrinking ratings.”

Social media users quickly took to the comments section to praise Spirit for the joke — and roast SNL in the process. “This was way funnier than their video,” one person wrote, while another said, “Can you take their time slot some day?”

A third commenter added: “Wait, SNL is still on?? I thought that ended in the 90’s.”

Hosted by Jean Smart, Saturday’s SNL episode didn’t hold back on making Spirit the butt of the joke. A pre-taped sketch showed SNL’s Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman and Michael Longfellow as employees shooting a faux commercial for the retailer.

“Times may be good on Wall Street, but on Main Street, communities are struggling,” Gardner says in a voice-over. “Closed stores, shuttered businesses, empty parking lots. … When hard times hit, it’s easy to feel like no one cares. But help is on the way.”

The trio claim that where others see old towns or abandoned K-Marts, they see a place to build their store “for six weeks and then bouncing.”

We are great at raising things back from the dead @nbcsnl https://t.co/TSlPALgKJ0 pic.twitter.com/EjrYa86Erz

— Spirit Halloween (@SpiritHalloween) September 30, 2024

“We’re here providing vulnerable communities with the things they need most,” Fineman explains. “Wigs that give you a rash, single-use fog machines, and costumes of famous characters tweaked just enough to avoid a lawsuit.”

Longfellow adds, “And thanks to us, what used to be condemned Auto Zone where a murder happened, is again a thriving business. … Where a murder happened.”

The sketch then pokes fun at the employees of Spirit, joking that the company provides “six-week jobs for some of the hardest hit perverts.”

The segment wraps with a young girl asking Fineman for a Taylor Swift costume. “You bet,” Fineman replies with a smile while handing her the package for “Blonde Woman Singing.”

“This isn’t Taylor Swift,” the girl says. “And neither are you,” Fineman replies with a smile while booping her on the nose.

“Spirit Halloween. When you need us, we’re here. For six weeks,” the threesome says. “Because on November 1, we’re gone. And all this junk will be in the dumpster.”

SNL promises plenty of more big sketches in the coming months to celebrate its 50 seasons on air. Its October and November lineup of hosts include Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton and John Mulaney, while Stevie Nicks, Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan are among the show’s listed musical performances.

Saturday Night Lives airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.