Saturday Night Live recap: Bad Bunny trolls MAGA over halftime show as season premiere hits Trump’s late-night crackdown
SNL skewered Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump tonight, while host Bad Bunny delivered his monologue partly in Spanish
The first episode of Season 51 of Saturday Night Live wasted no time in skewering President Donald Trump.
The opening sketch spoofed “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth's recent meeting with top generals. Colin Jost, playing Hegseth, had his speech interrupted by James Austin Johnson as President Donald Trump, cutting in to claim that the real threat to America is “late night TV!”
The episode was hosted by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, and the musical guest was Doja Cat.
Bad Bunny's appearance on SNL came shortly after he was revealed as the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show performer. The announcement had a mixed reception, with some MAGA conservatives angry that a majority of his set will likely be in Spanish. He poked fun at those upset by showing an edited version of news clips where Fox News hosts appeared to praise him.
He also addressed their concerns in a monologue conducted partly in Spanish. When it concluded, he added in English: “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
There were also guest appearances by Jon Hamm, Benicio Del Toro and KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X.
SNL won't let Trump forget about Epstein
During the show’s cold open, James Austin Johnson, in character as President Trump, turned to Colin Jost and said: “May every day be another wonderful secret... That was a quote from a poem I wrote to a horrible man I’ve never met before.”
The actor was quoting Trump’s alleged 50th birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein, that the president has denied writing. The president has sued the Wall Street Journal for publishing the contents of the card. Congress published the card last month after it was handed over by the deceased sex offender’s estate. Trump has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The Independent’s Kelly Rissman has more on this season’s pointed cold open:
SNL back with a bang as Trump sketch rips president over wars, late-night and Epstein
How the Trump administration responded to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl announcement
Bad Bunny’s decision to address the furore around the announcement he’ll perform next year’s Super Bowl halftime show came after a top Trump administration advisor said that federal immigration agents may be present at the event in February.
“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else,” Department of Homeland advisor Corey Lewandowski said during an interview aired Wednesday with Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show.
“We will find you,” he continued. “We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you. So know that that is a very real situation under this administration, which is completely contrary to what how it used to be.”
Michael Che joked about the threat during Weekend Update, saying: “You know, to catch all those farm workers who can afford Super Bowl tickets!”
What did Bad Bunny say in Spanish during his monologue?
Bad Bunny used his monologue at the start of the show to talk about what it means to him to perform at next year’s Super Bowl, beginning in English: “I know that people all around the world who love my music are happy...” before continuing in Spanish: “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world and here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country... no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
Benicio Del Toro among star-studded guest cast
Tonight’s SNL premiere was a particularly star-studded one, with Jon Hamm and Benicio Del Toro both joining Bad Bunny for sketches, along with a surprise appearance by KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X.
New cast members used sparingly
Tonight’s SNL was billed as kicking off a new era for the show as five new cast members entered the mix.
Newbies Ben Marshall, Veronika Slowikowska, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane will all hope to impress as the season goes on.
It was Florida stand-up Kam Patterson who was this episode’s most prominent new face, given his own Weekend Update segment slot to complain about a certain word he can’t say on TV:
‘Daddy’s watching!’ SNL is back with a bang as Trump sketch rips president over wars, late-night and Epstein
Tonight’s first sketch was a pointed riposte to President Trump, who has made no secret of his dislike of being made fun of by late night shows.
“We are facing the greatest threat to democracy the world has ever known,” Colin Jost, playing “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth, said.
“Late night TV!” James Austin Johnson, playing Trump, cut in.
Here’s The Independent’s Kelly Rissman with more on the fiery cold open:
SNL back with a bang as Trump sketch rips president over wars, late-night and Epstein
Weekend Update takes aim at government shutdown and Diddy's sentencing
Colin Jost opened the first Weekend Update of the season by joking that government finally represented the people “when it completely shut down.”
Michael Che also weighed in on Diddy’s sentencing. Here’s their take on the week’s headlines:
Doja Cat brings joie de vivre to SNL
Doja Cat’s two musical performances tonight saw her radically shift looks and styles. For her first song, the spiky "Aaahh Men!", she donned a blonde Madonna wig. For the second, “Gorgeous”, she appeared on a huge throne in the shape of a rose. Both songs are drawn from her recent fifth album Vie.
Benicio Del Toro cameos in sketch about the birth of Spanish
The massive success of Nate Bargatze’s “Washington’s Dream” skit from a couple of years ago has clearly inspired a newfound love of historical sketches from the SNL writing crew.
Tonight we get one about the birth of the Spanish language, starring Bad Bunny, Marcello Hernandez and special guest star Benicio Del Toro.
Dobby the House Elf weighs in on trans rights
The night’s most chaotic segment sees Bowen Yang playing Dobby the House Elf from the Harry Potter books, mocking author JK Rowling for her controversial views on trans rights.
Yang jokes about Rowling’s control of him, and the sketch grows increasingly absurd as his costume comes apart as he starts punishing himself for displeasing his master.
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