Sabrina Carpenter brings back Domingo in her hilarious SNL debut, jokes about Man’s Best Friend cover backlash

Sabrina Carpenter made a dazzling debut as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, combining sharp humour, self-awareness, and infectious pop energy — all while reviving one of the show’s most beloved characters, Domingo.

Welcome back, Domingo!

The ‘Manchild’ hitmaker opened the night with a cold open that immediately sent longtime SNL fans into a frenzy.

The sketch reunited Chloe Fineman’s iconic Kelsey character and her close-knit “girl squad,” including Carpenter herself. In true nostalgic fashion, the group broke into song to recount their wild Nashville night out, narrating every chaotic detail to Kelsey’s bewildered husband Matt (Andrew Dismukes).

Watch the skit here:

Set to the tune of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’, the musical retelling was capped off with the much-awaited reappearance of Marcello Hernández’s Domingo — bursting in with his trademark melodrama to declare his love for Kelsey, serenading her with Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’.

Domingo’s return drew roaring applause from the audience, marking a crowd-pleasing comeback for one of SNL’s standout characters.

Sabrina addresses controversies surrounding ‘Man's Best Friend' album cover

Carpenter then transitioned into her opening monologue, where she playfully tackled the chatter surrounding her latest album ‘Man’s Best Friend’. “Since then, my new album Man’s Best Friend came out, which I’m so excited about. But some people got a little freaked out by the cover,” she said with a knowing grin.

Watch her monologue here:

“I’m not sure why. It was just this: me on all fours with an unseen figure pulling my hair. But what people don’t realise is, that’s just how they cropped it. If you zoom out, it’s clearly a picture from the 50th anniversary special of Bowen helping me up by the hair,” she continued, as an edited version of the image appeared onscreen. “After Martin Short shoved me out of the buffet line.”

Leaning into her risqué pop persona, Carpenter poked fun at her own reputation. “Everyone thinks of me as this horndog pop star, but there’s really so much more to me,” she quipped. “I’m not just horny, I’m also turned on, and I’m sexually charged. And I love to read. My favourite book is the encyclopedia. It’s so big and it’s hard…”

The monologue, equal parts cheeky and clever, cemented Carpenter’s comedic timing and charm — proving she’s just as comfortable commanding the SNL stage as she is the Billboard charts.

With Domingo’s dramatic return, sharp writing, and Carpenter’s effortlessly self-aware humour, this episode of Saturday Night Live delivered everything fans hoped for.