Ariana Grande's Gory 'Home Alone' SNL Sketch Sparks Fierce Debate: Hilarious Parody or Holiday Horror?

Ariana Grande’s fifth appearance on Saturday Night Live is being called "unforgettable," but not everyone means it as a compliment. A pre-taped sketch from the December 20th show, which reimagined the holiday classic Home Alone as a gruesome slasher, has sharply divided viewers, sparking outrage from some and praise from others.

The parody starts familiarly enough, with Grande playing Kevin McCallister, setting up to defend his home. But in a dark twist, it’s his own family, not robbers, who fall victim to his increasingly violent booby traps. The sketch flips the film's happy reunion into a bloodbath.

The gruesome scenes included Kevin's father (Mikey Day) being set on fire, his sister (Sarah Sherman) falling into a furnace, and another brother hitting his head on a piano. Other family members were maimed by a swinging chainsaw and a falling metal fan. After this carnage is revealed as a hallucination, a neighbor appears and brutally hits Kevin and his mom with a shovel.

Online reactions were immediate and polarized. On X (formerly Twitter), one viewer asked, “What kind of sick (morally depraved) person finds humor in this skit?” Another user found it in poor taste, referencing the recent Rob Reiner family tragedy on December 14, commenting, “Seems kind of bad taste after (the) Reiner family tragedy.”

However, many viewers found the parody hilarious. Positive comments described it as the "perfect crossover between the Home Alone and Final Destination franchises." It was lauded as the "Best skit for the year" and "One of the better SNL shorts in a long time." Reactions to Grande's performance were similarly split, ranging from "spot on" to "awkward and cringey."

The controversy doesn't exist in a vacuum. SNL has faced a wave of criticism recently. The show on December 13 was accused of using cheap-looking, AI-generated images for its "Weekend Update" segment, which fans felt undermined the show's artists. This adds to long-standing complaints from some viewers about a perceived decline in the show's quality.