What Happened on Saturday Night Live Last Night? Harvey, Harvey, Harvey
Last night, everyone who watches Saturday Night Live to see what they’ll do with the big story of the week was waiting to see how the show would take on the Harvey Weinstein news story. Last week, the sketch series was heavily criticized for not addressing the story and the media was watching closely to see when– and if– the writers and cast of SNL would make a move. Some media outlets were even reporting live updates during the show that there was “still no Weinstein”. Hopefuls were not let down, the show devoted an entire sketch to the Weinstein scandal, set at the New York Film Festival. Viola Davis (played by Leslie Jones), Marion Cotillard (Cecily Strong) and the return of Hollywood old-timer Debette Goldry (Kate McKinnon) discuss Harvey Weinstein and sexual harassment in Hollywood.
Weekend Update also took on the elephant in the room, with some good old fashion appearance shaming (what no hashtag?). Jost took the first shots during a story about a few of Apple’s new emojis- a person at a spa, a vomiting face, and a shushing finger, “finally giving emoji fans the ability to describe what it was like to work for Harvey Weinstein.” Jost also questioned the value of Weinstein heading to sex rehab, instead suggesting an alternative facility — where there are “no women, no contact with the outside world, metal bars and it’s a prison.” Che pointed out how difficult it is to write jokes about sexual assault, but said luckily, it’s easy to make fun of “a guy who looks like this” pointing out a photo that he described as looking like “chewed bubble gum rolled in cat hair.”
Che went after Weinstein hard, calling his behavior way beyond “a mistake.” Watch the clips from Weekend Update below, which also includes some hilarious shots at Trump. They addressed his tweet about Obamacare “imploding” his signing ceremony “fail”, and his crusade to bring back “Merry Christmas”. “Dude, people say ‘Merry Christmas’ all the time,” Che pointed out before explaining why he’s planning to stop saying “Merry Christmas” and start saying #AllHolidaysMatter.
Watch clip two for a great take on Mike Ditka’s statement on oppression this week, news on Oreo’s newest flavor, and some updates on North Korea.
Weinstein watch definitely overshadowed Kumail Nanjiani’s moment- it was the comedian and actor’s first time hosting the show. He had a strong monologue addressing Islamophobes and the poor research skills of the average Islamophobic racist. And he was the featured performer in what was undoubtedly the funniest sketch of the night, a game show parody called Bank Breakers. Nanjiani plays a contestant who wants to use his game show winnings for a “dope wardrobe refresh.” Watch both the monologue and the sketch below.
Also on our 5 clips to watch this week, a digital short called “Kellywise” that It fans will love.
Saturday Night Live returns live on November 4 with the return of host Larry David.
