Who was Lily Allen’s surprise guest on SNL? 'Fifty Shades' alum joins singer onstage

Dakota Johnson was Lily Allen’s surprise guest on her December 13, 2025, appearance on Saturday Night Live. The Fifty Shades actress played the role of the titular mistress as Allen performed the song "Madeline" from her album, West End Girl. The album is widely believed to be inspired by her pending divorce from actor David Harbour. The couple got married in September 2020 and separated in early 2025.

Madeline follows the singer’s confrontational exchange with the other woman in her marriage. Allen performed on the side of the stage while Dakota Johnson remained hidden behind a sheet curtain, speaking to the former on the phone. Towards the end of the song, the actress revealed herself to the audience and joined the singer on the center stage. 

Johnson said to Allen:

"I hate that you're in so much pain right now ... He told me that you were aware this was going on and that he had your full consent."

She added:

"If he's lying about that, then please let me know because I have my own feelings about dishonesty. Lies are not something that I wanna get caught up in."

Johnson kissed Allen on her cheek, and the two hugged. 

Lily Allen returned to SNL for the first time in almost 20 years

Lily Allen’s December 13, 2025, performance on Saturday Night Live was her first since her 2007 debut, where she performed songs like Smile. During her recent stint on the legendary sketch comedy and variety show, Allen performed Sleepwalking which expresses her frustrations over her last relationship with lyrics like:

 "Looking back, it's so absurd / Course I trusted you and took you at your word ... / Been no romance since we wed ... / But you let me think it was me in my head / And nothing to do with them girls in your bed."

Allen described her West End Girl album in an interview with Perfect Magazine in October 2025 as a project that was personal to her. She said:

"This record was purely for me, and it was a way of processing things that I was going through in my private life."

She added:

"I made it with a friend of mine who was also the musical director on my last tour, Blue May. And he put together a really strong team of different people – writers, producers, players – that would come and go from his studio in LA. There were a few days that we went and worked in this guy called Chrome Sparks’s house, but apart from that, it was all done in the same room."

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