What's The Deal With Seat Fillers At The Oscars And Other Awards Shows? David Spade and A Real-Life Filler Speak Out

We are well into the throes of awards season right now, and if you are a person who watches the Golden Globes winners land their trophies or tunes in for all the wild Grammys fashion, you might be a little familiar with the term “seat filler.” We know, for example, that Kelly Clarkson once got mistaken for one. But what is a seat filler, how do celebrities perceive them and, most importantly, how does one land the job?

How A Real-Life Seat Filler Got The Gig

The Grammys were this past week, and one influencer spilled the tea on how one lands a gig as a seat filler at an events show. It’s both more difficult and less difficult than you might think. Per influencer Arjun Manjunath on Instagram, some of it simply came down to following directions, and having some dumb “luck.”

However, not only are people not paid to be seat fillers, so you have to foot your own bill and follow a wide swathe of specific directions, including what to dress and eating hours before the event. Despite this, the “difficult” part of the gig is actually landing it. Manjunath said they chose “around 300 of us out of 35,000 applicants.” So, signing up is easy, but also getting into the room ain’t. In fact, the influencer said he “didn’t know how” he was picked.

Recently, SNL stars Marcello Hernandez and David Spade were also talking about seat fillers. They mentioned they were even used during SNL50, so there’s all kinds of shows and events with live studio audiences that require signing on random folk to occupy seats. This includes events like the Oscars, The Grammys and other awards shows like the Golden Globes and Emmys, but it’s not strictly the types of events you might guess.

The website currently lists other types of past events they fill seats for, including the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony, The Miss America pageant, Stand up to Cancer, and a variety of other specials that air on major networks. Then, there are late night and other shows that tape with a live studio audiences, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and more.

Marcello Hernandez And David Spade Say It’s Always Weird To Be At Events With Seat Fillers

Speaking of seat fillers, as I noted prior, one of the biggest events to incorporate seat fillers in recent memory was last years SNL50 production. There were a slew of celebrities who attended, but some who skipped (or were late). Spade recently said on his Fly On The Wall podcast that he got to the event early and was told he’d be sitting in the front row next to Bill Murray. But Billy took his time showing up (or was perhaps backstage getting emotional at this point), and instead the star found himself talking to a seat filler, who was jazzed to be there. David Spade was less enthusiastic.

Marcello Hernandez also recounted some interactions he’s had with seat fillers, most recently at the Grammys. He said he’s always seeing randos sitting next to famous individuals, which can be kind of funny and sometimes awkward, noting one poor girl had just sat down and started drinking from a water bottle before she was yanked out of a chair.

Sometimes being a seat filler can be a juicy gig. One previous Grammys seat filler was sat near Ben Affleck and JLo the year his infamous sadfleck meme ran around and reported on him not seeming happy about being there. Jon Hamm also spoke out about some kid who got a front row seat at the SNL50 concert that aired right before the event, though that had a sweeter ending than David Spade’s snarky comment.