Kate McKinnon revealed she has an unusual health condition.
“I took a photo of my tongue and sent it to an actor friend of mine. We both have the same medical condition,” the “Saturday Night Live” alum, 41, told People in an interview published Saturday.
“It’s called geographic tongue,” she said. “Your tongue sheds in patches and looks like an atlas, hence the name ‘geographic tongue.’”
According to the Mayo Clinic, geographic tongue is an inflammatory but harmless condition where the tongue is missing tiny, pinkish-white bumps called papillae, which are fine, hairlike structures. Instead, the tongue has smooth red patches that often have slightly raised borders.
Some geographic tongue cases can involve pain or burning feeling, most often related to eating spicy or acidic foods. Most cases do not require treatment, but sometimes symptoms may be related to a fungal infection.
“It’s gross,” McKinnon admitted of her condition, sharing that she and her friend “brag about how geographic we are on any given day.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this in a magazine,” the comedian added.
McKinnon is not the first celebrity to reveal they have geographic tongue.
“Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson shared a photo of her tongue while revealing she has the same diagnosis in 2020.
“also I have geographic tongue – yes it’s a thing and yes that’s why my tongue looks weird.” the 28-year-old wrote alongside the selfie.
McKinnon was a cast member on “SNL” from 2012 to 2022 which earned her ten Emmy nominations.
Since leaving the sketch comedy series, she’s appeared in several films including “Barbie” in 2023.
In her People interview, McKinnon revealed the last thing she took from a set came from Greta Gerwig’s fantasy film.
“I was given—I didn’t steal—a chess piece from the Barbie set,” McKinnon shared. “The set and prop designers for Barbie were the most incredible artists and artisans and the stuff they made to fill out the world of the Dreamhouse and the Weird Barbie house really should be in a museum. They made a full chess set with these chess pieces in Weird Barbie aesthetic and they were so magical, and I was given, I want say it was a bishop? Tough to tell.”
Last year, McKinnon teased that she’d be interesting in returning to “SNL.”
“Yeah I’ll come back. I’d love to come back,” she said on “Today.”
