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In a return to form, Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” featured Bowen Yang as another aggrieved inanimate object standing up for themselves (hat tip to previous performances as the Titanic iceberg and viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng).
During this week’s final episode of the year, with host Martin Short and musical guest Hozier, Yang portrayed a besieged and mysterious drone flying over New Jersey. Introduced by co-host Michael Che, Yang began without missing a beat, “Hey, wow, indoors — this is different.”
When asked by Che “what” he was exactly, Yang answered: “OK, no, we’re not gonna do that. See, I know what I am, and I don’t have to explain myself to anyone at any time for any reason.”
He continued, justifying his actions flying high in the sky for no discernible reason: “All y’all hate me ’cause I’m up. Everybody’s like, ‘Is it a UFO, is it military, is it promo for SNL 50?’ Meanwhile, I’m just minding my business, hovering over people’s homes, maybe filming them. Also, what is so threatening about random machines in the night sky? God, it’s like y’all have never been to Afghanistan before.”
As Che relayed that the government has said the drones are probably “manned,” Yang quipped: “What’s this obsession with whether I’m ‘manned’ or not? For the record, I can get a man whenever I want. Trust me, there’s no problem there.”
He conceded, however, that he does have a boo: “I’m dating the helicopter from Succession, if you must know.”
In a rousing end, Yang as the drone broke out into song, mirroring the lyrics to Elphaba’s “Defying Gravity,” belting out that nobody is “ever gonna bring me down.” (Yang was a prominent cast member in this year’s blockbuster Wicked: Part One, opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who portrayed Elphaba.)
“For what be a drone but a mirror to society — and potentially a killing machine?” he posited.
Outside of Yang’s appearance, co-hosts Colin Jost and Che rattled through a few timely jokes, including about alleged UnitedHealthcare shooter Luigi Mangione‘s recent arrival to New York City, which drew loud cheers from the audience. Jost joked that the cheers were for “justice” and that, relatedly, “Bumble exploded” upon his return to the city.
Also, Che and Jost participated in their tradition of joke-swapping, during which Jost was forced to talk in a “Black voice” and poke fun at wife and actress Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile, Che was forced to joke about being present at Sean Combs’ parties and comment on the rape allegations facing Jay-Z.
See “Weekend Update” below:
