Kate McKinnon’s Laura Ingraham, Pete Davidson’s Novak Djokovic & James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump Volley In ‘SNL’ Cold Open
]
As with almost every role she plays on Saturday Night Live, Kate McKinnon does a wicked version of Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
Listing off rising inflation, rocking gas prices, and the flaws of the Green M&M girl, McKinnon’s wonky-eyed Ingraham went right after the first year of Joe Biden’s “disaster” of a presidency in the cold open of SNL tonight.
The skit then took aim at “former Wendy’s spokesgirl” Jen Psaki with an obvious heavily edited and jumpy clip that saw the White House press secretary saying “we are not good people; the American people should vote us out.”
McKinnon mocked the faked clip of Psaki as the “most true things she ever said.”
After lamenting the recent death of “America’s Dad” and millionaire murderer Robert Durst, SNL MVP McKinnon went full Ingraham with a literal “list of things liberals are trying to take from you” that very nearly could have come off FNC’s primetime with its inclusion of guns, country singer (and ex-SNL guest) Morgan Wallen and “missionary.”
Unfortunately, the return of Aidy Bryant’s Ted Cruz impersonation threw the whole thing off the tracks for a bit – even with that great line that the Texas senator’s laughable beard is like the January 6, 2021 coup attempt: “Shocking at first, but sadly it’s been normalized.” Bryant is incredibly talented, but her rendition of Cruz’s pathetic kneeling to the whims of Donald Trump and FNC’s overlord just doesn’t land a punch.
Better was Pete Davidson as Novak Djokovic and James Austin Johnson’s return as Donald Trump.
Termed “Unvaccinated Tennis Player” by the mock lower third, Davidson sold the scandal of the champion who was finally booted out of Australia this week after showing up Down Under for lacking the correct immunizations and for lying about his Covid status and movement on immigration forms.
“I am now the least popular Joker, except for Jared Leto,” Davidson’s Djokovic quipped in reference to Batman’s foe and the Oscar winner’s lame stint in the role in 2016’s Suicide Squad. “I found him relatable,” McKinnon’s Ingraham exclaimed, admitting to her guest that she’s a fan because “in tennis, love is bad.”
“In my heart, I know that one day, people will look back on this moment in history and say ‘who cares!’” the skit’s Djokovic declared, in what is probably a very true insight.
Next up in the fast-paced opener was Ego Nwodim as Ingraham’s “one Black friend” Candace Owens to say that MLK barely said anything about anything, and that the iconic civil rights leader “would have voted for Trump.”
Cruz and Owens are targets as least as easy as hitting the side of a barn and came off so in tonight’s SNL.
However, Johnson’s Trump playing Wordle in a rant about vaccines that some how incorporated John Mayer, Hillary Clinton, newly launched sitcom spinoff How I Met Your Father and Jason Momoa was near priceless. Add Johnson’s uncanny capturing of the former Celebrity Apprentice host’s voice and cadence plus a shout-out to Prada and Trump’s own name and you have a clip that is sure to keep on giving online this weekend – as you can see below
“Let’s get today’s Wordle, could we do that please” – Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/eUY25MYmKY — Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 23, 2022
The second SNL of 2022, tonight’s show sees former cast member Will Forte returning to 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s studio 8H in his hosting debut.
The gig comes just over a month after Forte’s old SNL MacGyver parody skit MacGruber debut on NBCU’s streamer Peacock as an eight-episode series to favorable-leaning reviews. In addition to Forte, SNL will have the Italian rock band Måneskin performing as the musical guests. Having opened for the Rolling Stones and on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last year, the quartet jumped to international fame after winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.
Next week sees Spider-Man: No Way Home and Nightmare Alley star Willem Dafoe make his SNL hosting debut, with Katy Perry back as musical guest for a fourth time. The American Idol judge actually fronted SNL too back in December 2011.
‘SNL’s Weekend Update Pokes Fun At Jon Voight, New ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Series & Colin Jost And Pete Davidson’s Purchase Of A Ferry Boat
]
On tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live, took shots at a wide range of targets, from Jon Voight, Dwayne Johnson and the new Lord of the Rings series to Update‘s own Colin Jost and SNL cast member Pete Davidson.
Anchor Michael Che noted that Voight recently released a video claiming that Abraham Lincoln’s spirit was guiding Donald Trump. “Hopefully,” he said, “not to a theater.”
Jost then aimed at Johnson, who said the skull of a T-rex seen behind him in a recent interview was a replica, rather than the real thing. “Johnson also said it’s just a coincidence that his diet calls for 1000 pounds of dinosaur meat a day,” he said.
Jost would later address the fact that Amazon has unveiled a title for its new Lord of the Rings series—that of course being Rings of Power. “I’m personally more excited,” he said, “for the spinoff, Gollum in Paris.”
Before long, the anchor would become the butt of the joke himself, when conversation turned toward his and Davidson’s recent purchase of a Staten Island ferry boat, which they’re looking to turn into an entertainment venue. The bit in which Davidson also featured came about after Jost invited Alex Moffat’s popular character “Guy Who Just Bought a Boat” to sit down for conversation on the NFL playoffs.
After making his way through his usual string of innuendos, Moffat’s character introduced Davidson to the desk as “Guy Who Just Bought A Ferry.”
“We’re boat people now, Colin,” said Davidson. “I mean, you always were. You look like you own the yacht they rent out for rap videos.”
“It’s very exciting,” deadpanned Jost. “We thought the whole thing through.”
Also stopping by the Update desk was cast member Sarah Sherman, who said she would be discussing staying cozy in winter weather before hurling anti-Jost headlines at the anchor, including “Wealth-Hoarding Hollywood Husband Colin Jost-Hansson Has Not A Dime To Spare…For St. Jude Hospital” and “Local Sex Bigot Rejects Queer Love.”
The third and final guest panelist of the night was Chinese Trade Minister Chen Biao (Bowen Yang), who appeared to discuss NBC’s decision not to send correspondents to the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing.
“NBC is announcing the games from their studios in Connecticut,” said Biao. “You know what else films in Connecticut? Maury. Good luck commentating over cries of, ‘You are not the father!’”
Update‘s “Guys Who Bought a Boat” bit can be found above. The remaining clips from tonight’s edition can be found below.
‘SNL’: Will Forte Tells Kristen Wiig to ‘Get Out’ After She Crashes His Hosting Debut
]
Will Forte made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut over the weekend and got a little help from some famous faces. Help he strongly said he didn’t want.
The former castmember came out onto the iconic stage and kicked things off with a long rant about how, out of all the actors he used to work with during his time on the show, he’s one of the last ones to get the chance to host.
“I was in the cast 12 years ago with Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Fred Armisen. So it was really fun to see Kristen host. Yep. And Bill. And then Andy. Then Fred. Then Kristen again. Then Bill again. Then Jason.”
“Seth Meyers! I mean, he’s one of my best buds, right? But, come on. He wasn’t really a sketch guy, he was just on Weekend Update. Does that even count as being on the show? But he hosted, right?” Forte continued. “John Mulaney was a writer when I was in the cast. And then he hosted four times. Four times! But hey, that’s OK. I’m not bitter about it. I’m not. Saved the best for last, right?”
“After 12 long years, tonight it’s finally my turn. My time to shine. Tonight is all about me,” Forte declared, and Wiig came up from behind to surprise him. “Are you serious?! Kristen?”
“Will! I am so excited that you’re hosting,” Wiig shared.
“Not a good time,” Forte said with a forced smile. “Well, it’s good to see you. Bye-bye!”
“Oh, so I should go?” Wiig asked awkwardly. “I flew in for this.”
“Oh, great, so you know where the airport is,” Forte shot back, adding as she left, “I don’t love that she got more applause then when I came out.”
Will Forte’s Monologue! pic.twitter.com/MChfkDCGY8 — Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 23, 2022
Forte then almost got played off, awards show style, from his own monologue, and finally got interrupted by Lorne Michaels who shared some bad news.
“I’m so sorry, Will. There’s been a mistake,” Michaels said, as Willem Dafoe stepped out of the shadows behind him.
When Forte explained that he though Dafoe was supposed to be hosting next week (with musical guest Katy Perry), Lorne said incredulously, “You think I’d book someone named Will, then someone named Willem?”
Ultimately, Lorne jokingly explained that he’d texted Forte to come host the show by accident, as he texted “Willem” and the phone’s autocorrect made the change.
After the monologue, Wiig rejoined Forte for several MacGruber sketches, and the pair were joined by their co-star from the MacGruber TV series, Ryan Phillippe.
Saturday Night Live airs live coast-to-coast at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
GET THE ET NEWSLETTER Email By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
‘SNL’: Tina Fey and Tom Hanks Step in to Help Paul Rudd Host After COVID Concerns Send Cast Home This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.
If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.
RELATED CONTENT:
Will Forte Forgets Who Kenan Thompson Is in Hilarious ‘SNL’ Promo
Will Forte and Willem Dafoe Set to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’
Will Forte Announces His Secret Marriage After Welcoming Baby Daughter
Will Forte Is Saving the World in First ‘MacGruber’ Trailer
Related Gallery
‘SNL’ Pays Tribute To Emmy-Winning Writer John Bowman
]
As tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live wound down, the show paid tribute to its former writer John Bowman, who died suddenly at home in California on New Year’s Eve, aged 64.
NBC via YouTube TV
Bowman wrote on the series from1988-1989 and won an Emmy for his efforts across 20 episodes, sharing the honor with Mike Myers, Al Franken, Conan O’Brien, Bob Odenkirk, Lorne Michaels, Phil Hartman, James Downey, A. Whitney Brown, Greg Daniels, Tom Davis, Shannon Gaughan, Jack Handey, Herbert Sargent, Tom Schiller, Robert Smigel, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Christine Zander and George Meyer.
Bowman also made uncredited appearances in a pair of 1988 episodes hosted by actors Danny DeVito and John Lithgow.
He was otherwise best known for co-creating and producing the ’90s sitcom Martin, writing on series including In Living Color, and leading the WGA’s negotiating committee during the 2007-08 strike.
SNL‘s photo tribute to Bowman from tonight’s show, hosted by MacGruber‘s Will Forte, can be found above.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Responds to Claim that Pete Davidson Has Missed Rehearsals Amid Kim Kardashian Romance
]
Has Pete Davidson been blinded by love? A recent report published by The Sun UK claims that the 28-year-old comic has been so wrapped up in his romance with Kim Kardashian West that he’s been missing rehearsals on Saturday Night Live, and shirking responsibilities to the show.
However, ET can confirm that the reports of Davidson missing SNL rehearsals because his relationship with the 41-year-old reality star are “not true.”
An SNL spokesperson told ET on Thursday that Davidson “hasn’t missed any rehearsals at all.”
Davidson and Kardashian – who sparked their romance back in October, shortly after Kardashian hosted an episode of the sketch comedy series – were spotted on a dinner date together on Tuesday, Jan. 11, just a few days before SNL’s return with guest host Ariana DeBose the following Saturday.
According to The Sun’s report, this suggested that Davidson wasn’t in New York for rehearsals for the episode. The long-running series rejects that assertion.
Davidson actually appeared in the episode’s “Cold Open” sketch, playing a Joe Biden from an alternate universe where everything is better. Davidson’s Biden poked fun at the comic’s high-profile love life in the sketch, joking, “Everyone on Earth is better off in the real world except one man named Pete Davidson.. This world is maybe more fun for him.”
The pair’s Los Angeles outing last week comes right after a post-New Year’s Eve trip to the Bahamas, and a source told ET last week that Kardashian “has such a great time” with her new beau and is definitely attracted to him.
“He makes her laugh, plays around and has a sense of humor,” the source said. “It is nice for Kim to be around that. Pete knows how to talk to Kim. He is the most confident guy, but not cocky. It is why it works with them. Kim thinks Pete is super sexy and likes how he knows so much about comedy, since that is a world she doesn’t know as much about.”
“Kim is just going with the flow, but they are spending so much time together, and things are really good right now,” the source added.
Check out the video below for more on the couple’s romance.
GET THE ET NEWSLETTER Email By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Inside Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s PDA-Filled Date Night This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.
If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.
RELATED CONTENT:
‘SNL’: Pete Davidson Plays Alternate-Universe Joe Biden in Cold Open
Kanye West References Kim Kardashian, Drags Pete Davidson in ‘Eazy’
How Kim Kardashian’s Family Feels About Her Dating Pete Davidson
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson Hold Each Other Tight During LA Date
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson Embrace in New Date Night Pics
Related Gallery