Heidi Gardner Reveals Lorne Michaels’ 1 Condition for Travis Kelce to Host SNL After ‘Years’ of Her Asking

Heidi Gardner is Travis Kelce’s #1 fan! 

The Saturday Night Live star, 41, revealed on a recent episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast that she long advocated for Kelce, 35, to host the beloved sketch show — but Lorne Michaels had one big condition. 

“The biggest swing I ever did in that department, and it did work, but it took a couple years, was Travis Kelce,” Gardner recalled. “I don’t want to take full credit from the show and the talent department, but I am obviously a big Chiefs fan, and I had seen him do other little acting gigs and appearances.”

She continued, “He’s funny, he’s charming. I had done the ESPYs with him, announcing something together.”

Kelce ultimately hosted the show for a season 48 episode in 2023, which Gardner noted was just before he went public with his relationship with Taylor Swift. 

“He was doing stuff,” the comedian said. “His talents were already on their way.”

She explained that Michaels told her that Kelce had to “win the Super Bowl” before he could host. “I was like, ‘That is so much pressure to ask!’ And then he won the Super Bowl!” Gardner said. 

The Shrinking actress, who appeared in a sketch with Kelce and his brother Jason, said she threw a tailgate party with her loved ones in her dressing room the night of the show. 

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna have a tailgate in my room’ because Arrowhead Stadium is famous for tailgating,” she said, adding that she had barbecue on the menu.

Gardner told Kelce about the tailgate but did not expect him to show up as he would be crunched on time as the show host.

“That morning, he was so nice. Jeff, one of our guys in the talent department knocked on my dressing room, and I opened it, and he had these cans of tequila sodas,” she said. “He’s like, these are from Travis for the tailgate.”

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The comedian still felt that he wouldn’t show because of the brief time between dress rehearsal and the show airing.

“I had run to go get my makeup done before the live show, and that’s when your guests that’ll be in your dressing room start arriving,” Gardner said. “So my brothers are getting there. They’re texting me like, ‘We’re in.’ My best friend, Michelle – people are getting there. I’m just like, ‘Oh, cool. It’s gonna be a great show. I’m just getting my make-up,’ and then I get another text.”

She opened the text message to a photo of the Kelce brothers eating barbecue in her dressing room. “I just know for a fact that’s the only host in SNL history that’s ever tailgated before hosting,” Gardner added.

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Since appearing on the show, Kelce has expanded his acting resume with a guest spot in Ryan Murphy’s horror series Grotesquerie and a hosting gig on the Prime Video game show Are You Smarter than a Celebrity? 

In May, Gardner said on Today with Hoda & Jenna that she went the extra mile to make Kelce feel comfortable during his SNL gig.

“I was very protective,” she said. “I asked him questions, which also, as a sports fan, I’m just interested in, but I was like, ‘On game day, what do you eat?’ And he was like, ‘Uncrustables. I’m just pounding Uncrustables.'”

Gardner recalled going to the store to buy Kelce the snack on show day.

“I was like, ‘I want this to feel as much like home as it can,'” she said.

Saturday Night Live airs Sundays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.