Rosalind O'Connor/NBC

Rosalind O’Connor/NBCBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appear in two promo ads with host Timothee Chalamet and cast member Cecily Strong ahead of their appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live. 

In the first ad, after Chalamet introduces himself and announces that Springsteen and the E Street Band will be the musical guest, Bruce declares, “Good news, the whole band is in the cast now.” Guitarist Steven Van Zant then raises his hand and yells, “Can I play Dr. Fauci?” Strong shrugs and responds, “Yeah, sure. Why the hell not?”

In the second promo, Strong turns to Chalamet and says, alluringly, “Call me by my name and I’ll call you by mine?” a reference to the acclaimed 2017 film Timothee starred in, Call Me by Your Name.

An embarrassed Chalamet agrees, and the two begin saying their own names to each other. Springsteen then interrupts, saying, “And I’m Bruce.”

Everyone is wearing a mask in both ads, which you can watch on SNL‘s YouTube channel.

In related news, Springsteen announced via his official Facebook page that bassist Gary Tallent and touring multi-instrumetalist/backing singer Soozie Tyrell won’t be performing with the group on Saturday Night Live because of COVID-19 “restrictions and concerns.” Bruce noted that both Tallent and Tyrell were fine, and revealed that Jack Daley — bassist with Van Zandt’s side band The Disciples of Soul — will fill in for Gary.

Meanwhile, Springsteen was a guest Thursday night on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The Boss chatted about the inspiration behind his new album, Letter to You, the Apple TV+ documentary about the making of the record, his upcoming SNL appearance and more. You can watch extended footage of Bruce’s appearance at the show’s YouTube channel.

By Matt Friedlander
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