How Justin Timberlake convinced 'very hesitant' Beyonce for iconic 'SNL' sketch

Beyoncé almost shut down one of Saturday Night Live’s most iconic sketches, according to Justin Timberlake. 

In the new NBC documentary Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, Timberlake shared that Beyoncé was hesitant about the 2008 Single Ladies parody, which featured him, Andy Samberg, Paul Rudd, and Bobby Moynihan as her hilariously out-of-place backup dancers.

"She was very polite about it, but she was very hesitant, and when I say hesitant, I mean like, she was not having it," Timberlake recalled.

It all started when Samberg texted Timberlake about the sketch idea, explaining that Beyoncé was the musical guest and that the trio would be playing her background dancers who “never made the cut.”

Timberlake was instantly on board. “I was like, ‘Full leotard?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And I was like, oh, this is too funny. Like, we have to do this.”

To convince Beyoncé, Timberlake took a bold approach. He showed up at her dressing room wearing the full outfit — black leotard, pantyhose, and high heels — hidden under a robe.

“I knocked on her door. I walked in, threw the robe down, and put my hands on my hips.” His commitment paid off. “She was like, ‘No, you didn’t,’” he laughed, remembering her reaction.

Of course, the sketch went on to become legendary, even getting a nod from President Obama, who joked with Beyoncé in 2009, "I didn’t put on the outfit, [but] I got a little something."