USA Hockey Star Quinn Hughes Faces Hostile Reception at SNL Rehearsals
American ice hockey defenseman Quinn Hughes was left visibly uncomfortable after being booed by the audience during rehearsals for Saturday Night Live, according to sources speaking to the Daily Mail. The incident occurred over the weekend in New York City, where Hughes appeared on the popular late-night comedy show alongside his brother and teammate Jack Hughes, as well as women's champions Hilary Knight and Megan Keller.
Olympic Gold Medalists Caught in Political Crossfire
The appearance followed America's double gold-medal victories at the Winter Olympics earlier this month, with both the men's and women's hockey teams triumphing over Canadian rivals. However, the celebration has been overshadowed by controversy stemming from former President Donald Trump's remarks to the men's team during a congratulatory call.
Trump told the male players, who secured a dramatic overtime win against Canada, that he was "going to have to bring the women's team" to Washington or he "probably would be impeached" after they too beat the Canadians to gold in Italy. While the women's team declined an invitation to Trump's State of the Union speech last week due to prior academic and professional commitments, the men's team faced scrutiny for attending despite the uproar over the former president's joke.
Audience Reaction During Dress Rehearsal
During the SNL dress rehearsal, which Quinn Hughes conducted without brother Jack who was playing for the New Jersey Devils at the time, the hockey star was brutally jeered by the live audience. An insider described the defenseman for the Minnesota Wild as being "very loudly booed" while rehearsing with "Heated Rivalry" star Connor Storrie.
"The audience booed very loudly and he looked very visibly uncomfortable," the source recalled. "I don't know if it was the entire studio but it was LOUD and sounded plentiful. He didn't make a face but you could very clearly tell he looked at the very least uncomfortable."
Another source described the reaction as a "mixture of light clapping and booing" when Hughes appeared for the rehearsal. "My friend and I ended up being seated on opposite sides of the studio and we both heard booing from each section," they said. "No one really cheered when he came on... some people in my section did boo though!"
Controversy Over Team's Response to Trump Remarks
The source elaborated on the Trump controversy, explaining: "I think at least from personal thoughts and feelings that it wasn't so much the call but how [the team] reacted and how since they really have taken no accountability for what they did was hurtful, especially since a few men on the team have come forward saying they shouldn't have laughed at Trump's joke because they do respect the women, their achievements and how hard they work."
In contrast to Hughes' reception, the audience response to women's stars Hilary Knight and Megan Keller was overwhelmingly positive. "The [cheers] when Megan and Hilary came on stage was insane though," noted one observer. "The dress rehearsal cheering and clapping was much louder and longer compared to the live show."
Live Show and Aftermath
During the actual live recording, the Hughes brothers, Knight and Keller all appeared to receive a loud and lengthy ovation during Storrie's opening monologue. Knight made light of the Trump controversy by saying: "It was going to be just us, but we thought we'd invite the guys too."
Last week, the women's captain had offered a more serious assessment of the situation, describing Trump's remarks as "distasteful and unfortunate." Several members of the men's team have since claimed they laughed at the joke while caught up in the moment and have issued apologies for the viral incident.
Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal in overtime against Canada, highlighted the strong connection between the men's and women's teams while playing down the fallout during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "We are hanging out with them so much, the women's team. We were supporting them," he explained. "Like, we were at their games, they were at our games."
He added about critics of the men's team: "How many of these people watched the gold medal game, watched their semifinals game? Like 10 of our players went to their game in the round-robin. We supported them so much, and we're so proud of them. We're so happy that they won, and they brought a gold medal back."
An SNL insider has played down the rehearsal incident, stressing that audience members are not directed to respond in any particular way during rehearsals or live shows.
