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Tag: Ego Nwodim

  • Bad Bunny kicks off ‘SNL’ 51st season

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    “Saturday Night Live ” kicked off its 51st season with faces both fresh and familiar and a sketch mocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s presentation to generals earlier this week.Colin Jost played Hegseth, mocking the defense secretary’s remarks in which he said it’s “it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops” and said it was unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals at the Pentagon.Video above: Pumpkins or cowbell? ‘SNL’ alumni share favorite sketches”No fatties, no facial hair, no body hair. Just hot, shredded hairless men who are definitely not gay.,” Jost as Hegseth said. “Because this is serious, we are facing the greatest threat to freedom and democracy the world has ever known. And we all know what that threat is.””Late night TV,” James Austin Johnson playing President Donald Trump, burst in. “‘SNL’ 51 off to a rough start,” Johnson’s Trump said. “Seventeen new cast members and they got the update guy doing the open.”After a fanfare-filled 50th season celebrating the past, “Saturday Night Live” looks to the future with a cast that includes five new featured players. As for the high-wattage early hosts, none other than Bad Bunny kicked things off on Saturday.He quipped about criticism of his selection as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show, “I’m very happy. I’m very happy. And I think everyone is very happy about it,” he said, before showing a clips of Fox News hosts’ reactions spliced together to make their reaction sound positive.He addressed the crowd in Spanish, too, and ended the section, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” Bad Bunny said.The music superstar is having what can only be described as an enormous week: he’s coming off a historic residency in Puerto Rico, and on Sunday was been announced as the Super Bowl halftime show headliner.His moment in the spotlight hasn’t come without some political discourse. The Puerto Rican artist has said one of the reasons his residency bypassed the continental U.S. was a concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could target immigrants for deportation outside his shows. Some conservatives supportive of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have criticized the halftime show pick as a result.Asked Friday by a podcaster whether ICE officials would be conducting enforcement at the Super Bowl, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they would, because DHS “is responsible for keeping it safe.” She didn’t specify whether the officials would be conducting immigration enforcement or other law enforcement duties that are typical at the event.Video below: Dan Aykroyd on ‘SNL’ and ‘The Blues Brothers’ in 1989 interviewIn his second “SNL” hosting gig, Bad Bunny will be joined by musical guest Doja Cat, making her debut in that role.He’ll be followed in subsequent weeks by Amy Poehler and Sabrina Carpenter. All three were highlights of the 50th season celebrations, with Bad Bunny performing at the “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert ” and also serving as the final musical guest of the season.SNL alumna Poehler, in her second solo hosting gig, will front the Oct. 11 episode alongside first-time musical guest Role Model. Her episode will air 50 years to the day of the very first episode of “Saturday Night Live,” on Oct. 11, 1975.Carpenter, who was a major attraction of the anniversary celebrations, is pulling double duty as host and musical guest on Oct. 18.The revamped cast comes on the heels of several high-profile departures, including Ego Nwodim and Devon Walker. Ben Marshall, already an “SNL” writer, becomes a featured player, along with newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.Nwodim, Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow all confirmed last month on their social media accounts that they are leaving the show. Multiple news outlets reported that cast mainstay Heidi Gardner was also departing the show, but neither Gardner nor NBC has publicly confirmed.The show picked up 12 Emmys last month for its 50th season and anniversary programming, including an award for outstanding variety special.”I won this award for the first time 50 years ago, in 1975,” Michaels said, accepting the Emmy, adding that he didn’t dream of doing the same show for the next 50 years.

    “Saturday Night Live ” kicked off its 51st season with faces both fresh and familiar and a sketch mocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s presentation to generals earlier this week.

    Colin Jost played Hegseth, mocking the defense secretary’s remarks in which he said it’s “it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops” and said it was unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals at the Pentagon.

    Video above: Pumpkins or cowbell? ‘SNL’ alumni share favorite sketches

    “No fatties, no facial hair, no body hair. Just hot, shredded hairless men who are definitely not gay.,” Jost as Hegseth said. “Because this is serious, we are facing the greatest threat to freedom and democracy the world has ever known. And we all know what that threat is.”

    “Late night TV,” James Austin Johnson playing President Donald Trump, burst in.

    “‘SNL’ 51 off to a rough start,” Johnson’s Trump said. “Seventeen new cast members and they got the update guy doing the open.”

    After a fanfare-filled 50th season celebrating the past, “Saturday Night Live” looks to the future with a cast that includes five new featured players. As for the high-wattage early hosts, none other than Bad Bunny kicked things off on Saturday.

    He quipped about criticism of his selection as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show, “I’m very happy. I’m very happy. And I think everyone is very happy about it,” he said, before showing a clips of Fox News hosts’ reactions spliced together to make their reaction sound positive.

    He addressed the crowd in Spanish, too, and ended the section, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” Bad Bunny said.

    The music superstar is having what can only be described as an enormous week: he’s coming off a historic residency in Puerto Rico, and on Sunday was been announced as the Super Bowl halftime show headliner.

    His moment in the spotlight hasn’t come without some political discourse. The Puerto Rican artist has said one of the reasons his residency bypassed the continental U.S. was a concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could target immigrants for deportation outside his shows. Some conservatives supportive of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have criticized the halftime show pick as a result.

    Asked Friday by a podcaster whether ICE officials would be conducting enforcement at the Super Bowl, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they would, because DHS “is responsible for keeping it safe.” She didn’t specify whether the officials would be conducting immigration enforcement or other law enforcement duties that are typical at the event.

    Video below: Dan Aykroyd on ‘SNL’ and ‘The Blues Brothers’ in 1989 interview

    In his second “SNL” hosting gig, Bad Bunny will be joined by musical guest Doja Cat, making her debut in that role.

    He’ll be followed in subsequent weeks by Amy Poehler and Sabrina Carpenter. All three were highlights of the 50th season celebrations, with Bad Bunny performing at the “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert ” and also serving as the final musical guest of the season.

    SNL alumna Poehler, in her second solo hosting gig, will front the Oct. 11 episode alongside first-time musical guest Role Model. Her episode will air 50 years to the day of the very first episode of “Saturday Night Live,” on Oct. 11, 1975.

    Carpenter, who was a major attraction of the anniversary celebrations, is pulling double duty as host and musical guest on Oct. 18.

    The revamped cast comes on the heels of several high-profile departures, including Ego Nwodim and Devon Walker. Ben Marshall, already an “SNL” writer, becomes a featured player, along with newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.

    Nwodim, Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow all confirmed last month on their social media accounts that they are leaving the show. Multiple news outlets reported that cast mainstay Heidi Gardner was also departing the show, but neither Gardner nor NBC has publicly confirmed.

    The show picked up 12 Emmys last month for its 50th season and anniversary programming, including an award for outstanding variety special.

    “I won this award for the first time 50 years ago, in 1975,” Michaels said, accepting the Emmy, adding that he didn’t dream of doing the same show for the next 50 years.

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  • Ego Nwodim’s SNL exit doesn’t sit right with us | The Mary Sue

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    Ego Nwodim is leaving Saturday Night Live and that has us feeling a little bit uneasy. The news of the comedian’s departure hit the news over the weekend. And, like everything surrounding SNL in the year of 2025, it became a jumping off point to argue about the show’s place as a cultural institution. We’re probably going to do a bit of the same here, but it’s hard to shake a feeling of lurking unease when discussing the longtime cast member deciding to pursue other avenues.

    She joined the cast of Saturday Night Live back in 2018 and those seven seasons is a run that any comedian would be proud of. However, it’s hard to argue with the decision to pick up and leave after so many of her other colleagues have made the decision to ply their trade in other corners.

    Our friends over at The 19th highlighted that there are no black women cast members on Saturday Night Live heading into this new season. In fact, there have only been 8 Black women cast members since SNL launched in 1975. Still, this current moment feels a little more ominous than just losing “Lisa from Temecula” for the time being. (Shout-out to her hysterical Dionne Warwick as well!)

    Saturday Night Live’s current comedy drain endgame

    Ego Nwodim
    (NBC)

    Recent years have seen so many notable names step away from Saturday Night Live. Among those newly minted alumni are people doing movies now like Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon. But, also Aidy Bryant, Cecily Stong, and Melissa Villasenor who felt like staples of the comedy lineup. SNL creator Lorne Michaels talked about Nwodim’s departure with Entertainment Tonight this weekend.

    “The show has always brought people in from different ages and different generations. It’s always hard when people leave, but there’s a time for that,” Michaels admitted. “Our audiences always stay relatively young, more so now with TikTok, and change is good. And the people that we’re bringing in, I’m really excited about.”

    Now, we can’t completely discredit what the SNL creator says here. There is a real chance that whoever comes in to fill Nwodim and other slots on the long running series will be amazing. But, there’s no denying that all these departures carry with them the risk of significant drain on the show.

    You don’t even go back that far to think about that SNL reunion special and how amazing that bit of TV was. Of course, an All-Star game, which that SNL reunion show effectively was, it’s going to be a crowd pleaser.  In order to have those kinds of events moving forward, you have to keep having long stints with recognizable talent that the audience connects with over time.

    What does the future even look like for SNL right now?

    the stage of snl
    (NBC)

    So you might be asking what we do about all this? Well, a lot of television observers, reviewers, and writers have been wondering what to make of SNL as an institution since 2020. There’s no question that these legacy media brands don’t really go away. In effect, they mutate over time into something that retains most of the characteristics of what came before. But, also live on as shadows of the dominant cultural forces they used to be.

     There’s no other way to look at this than to see all of these beloved comedians surveying the landscape and opting to go it alone as evidence of SNL losing some ground as a cultural bedrock. Why even be on NBC in a coveted time slot anymore, when you can just start a YouTube channel and feel completely in control of your own output? These are the questions facing most modern comedians as they navigate our social media reality in 2025.

    Simply: Ego Nwodim is too talented to be left waiting for very long. All of the other SNL talent that’s left the program in recent years have basically landed on their feet. Yeah they might not command the highest salaries in Hollywood. But, they survive. And, maybe more crucially they find their audience in a way they never would beaming into our living rooms late on a Saturday night.

    Even with those facts stated, it’s hard not to look at the exodus of different talent and be worried about the idea of a monoculture ever returning to our airwaves. In TV’s current configuration, the only thing certain is more upheaval.

    Photo Credit: (NBC)

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    Aaron Perine

    Aaron Perine is a writer that covers Free Streaming TV, normal TV, small TV (the kind that plays on your phone mostly!), and even movies sometimes!

    Phase Hero co-host. Host of Free Space: The Free Streaming TV Podcast.

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    Aaron Perine

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  • Taylor Swift’s Worlds Collide In SNL Season 49 Finale With Ex Jake Gyllenhaal Hosting & Bestie Sabrina Carpenter Performing! – Perez Hilton

    Taylor Swift’s Worlds Collide In SNL Season 49 Finale With Ex Jake Gyllenhaal Hosting & Bestie Sabrina Carpenter Performing! – Perez Hilton

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    We’ve come to the end of the road on season 49 of Saturday Night Live.

    Over the weekend, Taylor Swift‘s ex Jake Gyllenhaal took the Studio 8H stage to close out the 49th season of the sketch comedy show. And nooooo, he totallyyyyyy wasn’t salty that he was only one episode away from hosting the premiere of the 50th anniversary episode! Ha! He said in his opening monologue:

    “When you think of historic television seasons, the first number that pops into your head is 49. I mean, sure, one more episode and I would have been hosting the premiere of the 50th season, but who cares? [49] is a great number.”

    The Roadhouse star ex continued:

    “I know we’re all waiting for season 50, but, you know, you can’t get to 50 without a little bit of 49. And we’re here at the finale, the End of the Road.”

    Related: Kendall Jenner Attends Bad Bunny’s Orlando Concert — Are They Back Together?!

    Jake then started singing the lyrics to Boyz II Men’s End of the Road, but with an SNL twist:

    “I’ve loved you right from the start, oh season 49 / You know, I was actually SNL’s first choice to host the finale after a lot of people said no / I guess they’re all holding out for the 50th, but not me, not little J-G, I’m the one who said, ‘Yeah’ / They asked Pedro Pascal but he wasn’t around / Zendaya said no ‘cause she’d be out of town / Even asked [Ryan] Gosling to come back again, just hosted three shows ago”

    HA!

    Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, and Devon Walker then joined him on stage and sang in unison:

    “Although we’ve come to the end of the road / It’s the last episode / Time to say goodbye / Season 49 / You’ll be 50 soon”

    40 years and over 900 episodes! DAMN! Also, Jake has a set of lungs on him!! Watch the musical monologue (below):

    And Jake wasn’t the only Taylor-related guest on Saturday’s show… Her bestie and Eras Tour opener Sabrina Carpenter was also in the Big Apple to serenade the audience for the season’s finale! First up, she sang her chart-topping single Espresso, and absolutely CRUSHED it! Watch (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfiOn7_aJ0k

    Spectacular!

    She also sang a mashup of Feather and Nonsense, which sounded absolutely excellent. Watch (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHNnm2bE3Lg

    Sabrina typically concludes Nonsense with an ad-lib relating to whatever city she’s in. This time, she sang:

    “This song catchier than chicken pox is / I bet your house is where my other sock is / Woke up this morning, thought I’d write a pop hit / How quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz / He is 30 Rock hard ‘cause I said hi / My sense of humor is but I am not dry / SNL I just came for the first time”

    She always kills it! However, we wouldn’t have been mad if she’d added a little riff in there about Jake and Taylor! That would have been the perfect opportunity! And we know Swifties would have gotten a kick out of it!

    Sabrina also stuck around for a gruesome Scooby-Doo skit, where she played Daphne alongside Jake’s Fred. Watch (below):

    Oof!!

    Later on in the show, the Weekend Update guys Colin Jost and Michael Che hit each other with some absolutely SAVAGE jokes — with one even about Colin’s wife Scarlett Johansson! Watch (below):

    See the rest of this week’s highlights (below):

    Well, that’s a wrap on season 49! What’d YOU think?? SNL will return this fall with season 50!

    [Images via NBC/Peacock & MEGA/WENN]

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    Perez Hilton

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  • Ego Nwodim Will Sadly Not Be Playing Jasmine Crockett on SNL

    Ego Nwodim Will Sadly Not Be Playing Jasmine Crockett on SNL

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    Cook her meat.
    Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    Why can’t we have nice things? After Rep. Jasmine Crockett clapped back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during a House Oversight Committee hearing earlier this week by bringing up her “bleach blonde, bad-built, butch body,” all eyes turned to Saturday Night Live. Surely the sketch show, and specifically Ego Nwodim, would make a meal out of that moment. Right? Well unfortunately, Nwodim took to Twitter midday Saturday to announce that despite fans (and the world at large) begging for her to take on the role, it isn’t happening. “Devastated to announce I will not be playing Rep. Jasmine Crockett tonight. Please respect my privacy as I grieve,” Nwodim wrote, bracing us all for disappointment. Crockett herself even replied, writing, “Let us all bow our heads and say a prayer for peace… like Lauren Boebert did during the hearing 🙄.”

    Does this mean the finale will skip over the congressional sparring entirely? Or will someone else be taking on the role of Rep. Crockett? And if so, who? Maybe Sabrina Carpenter will address it in her “Nonsense” outro? Or perhaps Crockett herself will appear to dole out even more roasts? In any case, as a consolation to those mourning not getting to see Nwodim slay some C-SPAN humor — Bowen Yang has thankfully posted his annual Ego Nwodim end-of-season Instagram supercut. She is cutting up.

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    Tom Smyth

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  • ‘SNL’ Nails Jada Pinkett Smith’s 1 Personality Trait That Rubs Many The Wrong Way

    ‘SNL’ Nails Jada Pinkett Smith’s 1 Personality Trait That Rubs Many The Wrong Way

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    Jada Pinkett Smith is many things — an actor, talk show host, and even the former lead singer of a nu metal band. But one thing she certainly is not is a straight shooter.

    On the most recent episode of “Saturday Night Live,Ego Nwodim pegged Pinkett Smith’s tendency to spin the truth by portraying the “Girls Trip” star as slightly more forthright.

    And a more straightforward Pinkett Smith — who’s devoid of cryptic or “flowery” explanations and cutesy euphemisms that leaves one’s brain entangled in confusion — made for a very humorous portrait of a woman who never really cuts to the chase.

    “Sorry if I seem a little tired,” Nwodim’s Pinkett Smith told Michael Che during the sketch show’s “Weekend Update” segment. “I’ve been on the ‘Today’ show 14 times in three days.”

    This honest explanation as to why Pinkett Smith may look exhausted after her recent week-and-a-half media blitz to peddle her new memoir “Worthy” is extremely refreshing.

    Nwodim’s more blunt portrayal is even funnier when her version of Pinkett Smith begins to explain excerpts from “Worthy” about her unconventional and messy relationship with husband Will Smith — which the real Pinkett Smith focused on during her promotional tour.

    “The day we got married, I knew there was gonna be trouble. At our wedding, someone stood up and objected,” Nwodim’s Pinkett Smith told Che.

    “Who was it?” Che asked.

    “It was me,” Nwodim’s Pinkett Smith casually responded.

    But Nwodim didn’t stop there. As Pinkett Smith, she also revealed the secret to a successful marriage is to “never go to bed happy” and that, despite her rocky relationship with Smith, she’s currently in a good place.

    “Nothing makes me feel stronger than publicly cucking my millionaire husband,” Nwodim shared.

    Nwodim’s Pinkett Smith also throws in some of the “Red Table Talk’’ host’s euphemisms. When Che asked Nwodim about Pinkett Smith’s decision to describe her relationship with Smith as “brutiful” (meaning “brutal” and “beautiful”) in her book, Nwodim responded with: “Yup, uh-huh, and other people describe it as ‘brunhealthy.’”

    But the true chef’s kiss of Nwodim’s portrayal is when her version of Pinkett Smith tries to abruptly shift the conversation away from her and Smith’s marriage to her second-favorite topicTupac.

    To see Nwodim’s hilarious skewering of Pinkett Smith for yourself, check out the video above.

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  • Bad Bunny Talks ‘Sex In Spanish’ As He’s Joined By Lady GaGa, Pedro Pascal, Mick Jagger & MORE For SNL! WATCH! – Perez Hilton

    Bad Bunny Talks ‘Sex In Spanish’ As He’s Joined By Lady GaGa, Pedro Pascal, Mick Jagger & MORE For SNL! WATCH! – Perez Hilton

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    Bad Bunny showed the world he has no flaws on Saturday Night Live… literally!

    The Puerto Rican rapper took on double duty as both the host AND musical guest for the sketch comedy show on Saturday night — and absolutely rocked the house! BB, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, opened with a nearly five-minute monologue where he shot down skeptics who thought he couldn’t host because English isn’t his “first language,” but had a confident message:

    “I don’t know if they know, but I do whatever I want.”

    Related: Tom Brady’s Romance With Irina Shayk Is OVER!

    Tell ‘em!! He hilariously continued:

    “I can host this show in English, I can order McDonald’s in English, I can have sex in English, but I prefer sex in Spanish because it’s just better. I just prefer Spanish.”

    Okayyy, Benito!

    From there, the 29-year-old continued his monologue in his native language, eventually bringing out his “friend” to help “translate” — Pedro Pascal!! The Last of Us actor, who hosted the coveted show last season, then gave BB a bit of “advice” on his monologue, telling him “self-deprecating” jokes — where one points out “unflattering” parts of themselves — always work… but the Where She Goes rapper confidently pointed out:

    “I don’t have any.”

    He then showed an “embarrassing photo” of himself — completely naked with nothing but a towel covering his manhood. Watch his full monologue (below):

    Woof!

    We then got to see the dreamy rapper flex his acting skills in a few hilarious sketches, including one where rock legend Mick Jagger slapped him in a mock-telenovela, and another where the 80-year-old played a nun-in-disguise. Watch (below):

    But the cameos didn’t stop there! To introduce the rapper for his first musical performance of the night, none other than Lady GaGa took the stage to flex her own Spanish skills! See (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkSnz-5C5C8

    Amazing!

    Elsewhere in the ep, Colin Jost and Michael Che gave us the Weekend Update, which featured jokes about House Republicans dropping Jim Jordan as nominee for Speaker of the House, Joe Biden in Israel, Donald Trump’s gag order, and, of course, Britney Spears’ forthcoming memoir, The Woman in Me.

    Ego Nwodim appeared as Jada Pinkett Smith amid The Matrix star’s promo for her own memoir, Worthy, joking that she and Will Smith cracked the code on a “successful marriage.” She joked:

    “23 years later, Will and I are still a unit. And it’s because we have learned that the secret to a successful marriage is: Never go to bed happy.”

    Oof… we have to laugh, LOLz!

    See the rest of the hilarious and entertaining clips (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ArZCGbIr0

     

    Sadly no Kendall Jenner cameo, though… Maybe going Instagram official was enough for the lovebirds! Thoughts, Perezcious readers?? Did Bad Bunny pull off hosting AND performing? Let us know in the comments!

    [Images via NBC/Peacock]

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