Drew Barrymore Skips On-Air Wedding

ByABC News
November 21, 2000, 2:26 PM

Nov. 21 -- Drew Barrymore and Tom Green were thisclose to getting married on the air on Saturday Night Live this weekend but the Charlies Angel pulled the plug on the live nuptials at the last minute, Varietys Army Archerd reports.

If you caught the show, you know that host Green began the evening in a tux with an impromptu call to a casually dressed Drew to tie the knot right there. She joined him onstage and mock-protested but then agreed to marry him at the end of the show.

Although we saw glimpses of Drew in a wedding gown, accompanied by SNL comedians as bridesmaids she left her man standing at the altar and shouting her name, as stagehands dismantled the wedding set.

Not a Joke, Really

Wacky antics and self-humiliation are just par for the course for Green, but it turns out that he really did have everything ready for the wedding, including a license and a minister, until Drew decided (apparently five minutes before the ceremony) that it would be inappropriate to marry on the air.

SNLs Lorne Michaels, who appeared in a tub skit with Green, confirmed that the wedding plans were on until the last minute.

Several guests were on hand to see the two crazy kids tie the knot (yes, thats why Gwyneth Paltrow was around for that Weekend Update appearance). Those waiting in the wings included Cameron Diaz, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Harvey Weinstein, and Sara Gilbert, says Archerd.

Green was slightly miffed, Archerd says, but the two are now sticking to what was apparently their original plan: a wedding in the summer, place and time unknown.

In promo spots for Saturdays show, Green hinted that something special might happen on the show, which is perhaps why it ended up being the highest-rated SNL episode of the season.