Finn Wolfhard’s SNL Stranger Things Spoof Draws Criticism Over Jokes and Conformity Gate

Kotaku reports that Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend, and the show’s Stranger Things spoof addressed the online backlash to the series finale and the Conformity Gate conspiracy theory. Wolfhard’s monologue was criticized for what the report called “low-hanging misogynistic jokes,” including a line about the first time he learned what a woman looked like “down there” that cut to his character reacting to a Demogorgon.

The sketch imagined multiple Netflix spin-offs, including a Sex and the City parody starring Wolfhard, and also drew fire for a remark about Lucas and Max’s future sex life referencing Max’s coma and for poking fun at Will’s extended coming-out scene — jokes some viewers deemed tasteless or homophobic.

The piece argued that mocking the scene’s length is not the same as making a joke at the expense of gay people. The sketch explicitly referenced the Conformity Gate theory with a reunion line that “everything we thought happened was an illusion that was planted by Vecna” and Wolfhard’s “How about eleven?” punchline, followed by Kenan Thompson stepping in for Millie Bobby Brown holding an Eggo waffle and spouting gibberish.

Key Topics

Culture, Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things, Saturday Night Live, Conformity Gate, Duffer Brothers