In this photo, cast members (L-R) Kate McKinnon, James Austin Johnson and Alex Moffat are seen during the show’s March 5, 2022 Cold Open.
A week after paying tribute to Ukraine in its cold open, "Saturday Night Live" returned to its uproarious roots this week by skewering Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham for taking pro-Vladimir Putin stances as Russia threatened Ukraine.
The cold open was presented as the "Fox News Ukrainian Invasion Celebration Spectacular" in Mar-a-Lago, with Carlson and Ingraham as hosts of the event.
“We got into a bit of trouble for all the nice things we said about Russia and all the mean things we said about Ukraine,” Carlson, played by Alex Moffat, said.
“We did sound pretty awful in hindsight and foresight,” said Ingraham, played by Kate McKinnon.
They went on to say how they were also reprimanded for saying on air that they found the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, "pathetic" because he stayed and fought with his people, and reducing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "border dispute," respectively by hosting a fundraiser for the real victims: the Russian oligarchs.
“I kept saying we should be more worried about our own border getting invaded by Mexico,” Moffat said. “But in my defense, I am racist, so I thought that was true.”
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Ingraham went on to assure viewers that "former and current President of the United States Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson)" will be handling phone lines for callers looking to donate.
After cutting to Donald Trump who criticized Beyond burgers and the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" reboot, the Fox News hosts said they would be sending a network care package to "every Russian soldier" that included "a My Pillow, six month subscription to LifeLock and 10 American flag catheters."
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Then came out, “the real Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” Cecily Strong’s Kimberly Guilfoyle and Mikey Day as Eric Trump Jr., singing the song “Shallow” from "A Star is Born."
After quickly shuffling them off stage, Moffat’s Carlson and McKinnon’s Ingraham flaunted free T-shirts that they were going to be giving way.
The front read, “I stormed the Capitol,” and the back stated, “This does not constitute an admission of guilt.”
The fundraiser ended with the Fox News hosts announcing that a Russian "boat is currently being towed by NATO," mocking the recent yachts that were seized from the Russian oligarchs in result of the recent sanctions, and joking that since Putin is attempting to block free speech, they should also shut down CNN.
In fact, CNN did suspend broadcasts from Russia, along with ABC News, CBS News and the BBC, following the passage of a new law that could land journalists in jail even for calling Putin’s “special operation” a “war” or “invasion.”
Actor Oscar Isaac made his debut as host of "Saturday Night Live" speaking in his opening monologue about his upcoming Disney+ series "Moon Knight," which serves as his introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and more.
“I’m so excited to be here. This is my first time hosting "SNL,” Isaac said as he walked out onto the stage. “They actually asked me to host back in 2015 but I said, ‘Nah, I’m not ready. I want to wait until after the pandemic.’ And they were like, ‘What pandemic?'”
The actor went on to say that while his stage name is Oscar Isaac, his full name is Oscar Isaac Hernández Estrada.
“I said to Hollywood, ‘You can pick two of these names.’ Guess what they went with? The white ones,” he joked.
“I’m half Guatemalan, half Cuban—or, as casting directors call that, ‘Ethnically ambiguous.’ According to them, I can play anything from a pharaoh to Timothée Chalamet’s daddy," Isaac said referring to his role in the movie "Dune."
You know that joke about a priest, a rabbi and a minister walking into a bar, Isaac asked? “Yeah,” he deadpanned, “I could play anyone in that joke.”
In the first sketch of the show, Isaac, playing a city councilman, alongside a group of concerned citizens (Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Mikey Day), call for the removal of the "Paw Patrol" in a voting campaign ad.
The initiative saw the Mayor (Ego Nwodim) fire all the local police, firefighters, and paramedics and replace them with a group of six talking dogs.
“The 'Paw Patrol' is run by a six-year-old boy named Ryder,” Isaac's character explained.
“Who is this kid? Beats me. As far as we can tell, he has no parents and he doesn’t go to school. But maybe that’s for the best because with all of our tax dollars paying for all these cockapoos jetpacks, we now have one of the worst schools in the state.”
Based off the hit Netflix show "Inventing Anna" about the convicted con artist and fraudster, Anna Sorokin, who pretended to be a wealthy German heiress, (her alias was known to be Anna Delvey), comes the spoof "Inventing Chloe."
Chloe Fineman, after watching a little too much of the Netflix series, tries her hand at living the high life: Anna Delvey style.
She uses Sorokin's infamous—and odd—accent to convince some of her "SNL" colleagues that showrunner Lorne Michaels has given her James Austin Johnson's role on the show as President Joe Biden, and takes Michael Che’s co-anchor spot on Weekend Update.
During news segment Weekend Update, co-host Colin Jost mentioned how military experts have been surprised "that despite having superior fire power, the Russian army has been slowed by aging equipment, poor motivation, and inept leadership."
"So basically, they're the [Los Angeles] Lakers," Jost joked.
In coronavirus related news, co-host Michael Che discussed how next week New York City will no longer require bars and restaurants to show proof of vaccination, as well as lifting the vaccine mandate for indoor dining and events.
"Finally! Said the next variant," Che quipped.
Next week on March 12, Zoë Kravtiz hosts with musical guest Rosalía.
