IN REMEMBRANCE

How Aubrey Plaza’s ‘SNL50’ Appearance Featured Subtle Tribute to Late Husband

Plaza kept Jeff Baena’s memory alive during her brief role in the anniversary special.

When Aubrey Plaza took the mic Sunday for her first public appearance since the death of her husband Jeff Baena, her ensemble featured a heartfelt reference to their wedding.

Plaza introduced musical guests at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special, the first time she has been seen since Baena, 47, was found dead in January in what authorities believe was a suicide.

During that brief appearance, fans noticed that Plaza was wearing a tie-dyed pajama top, which she’d previously revealed was the ceremony attire of choice for her and Baena’s nuptials.

For their impromptu backyard wedding in 2020, “I decided that we were going to wear tie-die pajamas that he had made for us”, Plaza revealed during a sit-down on the Drew Barrymore Show in 2021. “And then I had my little rosemary crown, and I made a little love altar in the backyard, of all our love objects. It was very witchcore, but it happened.”

The reason for the pajamas, Plaza also shared, was that Baena “got really into tie-dying” during the pandemic. “And when I say into tie dying I mean, 50 shorts a day,” she told Ellen DeGeneres that same year, while describing their last-minute decision to tie the knot. “I just said, ‘Hey it’s our ten-year anniversary, we should do something [like] get an ice cream cone or do something special.’ And then I joked about getting married, and he was like, ‘Well we probably couldn’t get married that fast.’” However, Plaza found onehourmarriage.com, she explained, and they were able to have the quick wedding in their backyard within the next “two hours.”

Since Baena’s death, Plaza deleted her Instagram page and made only one public statement, together with Baena’s family. That statement requested “privacy” to deal with the “unimaginable tragedy.”

Fans were happy to see Plaza nonetheless, as one wrote on X, “Aubrey Plaza just quickly letting us know she’s doing okay at #SNL50 has me sobbing.”

Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

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