According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus, Parks and Recreation, Agatha All Along) made her first public appearance since the death of her husband, Jeff Baena (The Little Hours, Life After Beth), at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special. Plaza’s appearance at the SNL anniversary marked her first public outing since Baena’s death by suicide on January 3. Baena was found at his Los Angeles home, with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office confirming he was 47 years old. On January 6, Plaza and Baena’s family released a statement expressing their grief and gratitude for the outpouring of support, requesting privacy during this difficult period.

Plaza took the stage briefly during the NBC broadcast on Sunday night to introduce musical guests Miley Cyrus (“Flowers,” “Party in the U.S.A.”) and Brittany Howard (“Stay High,” “13th Century Metal”). Her outfit, featuring dress pants, a blazer and a tie-dye shirt, sparked considerable attention from viewers. The shirt served as a tribute to Baena, with Plaza previously revealing in a 2021 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show that she and her late husband wore tie-dye at their wedding. She recalled, “Jeff got really into tie-dyeing during the quarantine, so I decided that Jeff and I were going to wear tie-dye pajamas that he had made for us.”

The Hollywood Reporter mentions that before attending the SNL anniversary, Plaza had been scheduled to present at the Golden Globes on January 5 but did not attend following Baena’s passing. Before her husvand’s death, Plaza had filmed a Ritz crackers commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

Plaza and Baena started dating in 2011. Baena is known for writing and directing films such as The End of Love (2012), The Little Hours (2017) and Spin Me Round (2022). Plaza also starred in Life After Beth (2014), which marked Baena’s directorial debut, a film he also wrote.