The ‘Barbie’ star channeled his inner Swiftie to process a ‘breakup’ with his Ken character.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s cover of “All Too Well” is Taylor Swift-approved. The pop songstress offered an enthusiastic thumbs up after seeing her hit song reimagined for Gosling’s Saturday Night Live opening monologue over the weekend.
“‘All Too Well’ (Ryan and Emily’s Version) !!!,” Swift gushed on her Instagram Story. “Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour. This monologue is everything.”
For good measure, Swift added multiple heart-hand and clapping emojis.
On Saturday, the Barbie star returned to host Saturday Night Live, and he kicked off the show by bidding one very special character farewell: Ken.
Taking the stage in a relaxed black suit, the 43-year-old actor knew what the audience wanted, but he wasn’t going to give it to them just yet.
“I’m not gonna make any jokes about Ken because it’s not funny,” he said. “Ken and I, we had to break up. We went too deep and it’s over, so I’m not gonna talk about it.”
But Gosling couldn’t keep his word.
“I actually am gonna talk about it a little bit,” he said with a little chuckle. “You know when you play a character that hard, that long, it’s just… letting go just feels like a breakup, and for processing a breakup, there’s only one thing that can help, the music of the great Taylor Swift.”
As Gosling took a seat at a piano, the lights went pink as he reflected on his bleach blonde hair, rollerblades and the Kenergy that swept the nation by singing his own version of Swift’s breakup anthem, “All Too Well.”
For the second act of the song, Gosling was joined by his The Fall Guy co-star, Blunt, who tried to convince him to end his Barbie era and focus on being the stuntman from their latest film.
Gosling then reminded Blunt of her Oppenheimer character, Kitty, and all the success she saw during the epic “Barbenheimer” run, where both Barbie and Oppenheimer had simultaneous releases.
Together, Blunt and Gosling closed the monologue by bidding farewell to Kitty and Ken. Blowing out a Ken candle, Gosling said, “Farewell, my sweet prince.”
However, when the candle was relit, Gosling reassured Blunt and the audience that “Ken will never die,” before launching into the show.
While Gosling kept the laughs coming inside New York City’s Studio 8H, Swift was attending Coachella on the west coast with boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The “Cruel Summer” singer and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end were seen happily embracing, dancing and even making out while enjoying the festivities.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attend Coachella. – Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
Swift is gearing up to release her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19. Then, next month, Kelce will host yet again his Kelce Jam music fest, presented by Jim Beam. The festival goes down May 18 at Azura Amphitheater in Kansas City, Missouri. Some of this year’s featured artists include Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz and Diplo.
The Super Bowl champ recently opened up to ET about the ways that Swift has influenced his own musical taste in recent months.
“It’s definitely been fun to experience her taste in music, for sure,” Kelce told ET earlier this month. “She’s so amazing at what she does. And to find that creativity to see where she likes to pull things from and just, really, how she listens to music is very eye-opening for me. It’s been fun to hear her take on it.”
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift step out after attending Saturday Night Live on Oct. 14. – Entertainment Tonight
Swift and Kelce have come a long way — and traveled the globe together — since they first went public with their relationship back in September. Fans will remember that SNL actually played a part in the early days of their love story, as the couple made some quick cameos on the show in October. After the show, they were officially photographed together in public for the first time.