The 51st season of Saturday Night Live began with Bad Bunny addressing recent controversy surrounding his upcoming Super Bowl halftime show performance during his hosting monologue, The Associated Press reported.
The music superstar joked during his opening remarks that universal enthusiasm greeted his selection as Super Bowl headliner, including support from Fox News, according to AP. This comment directly referenced opposition from certain groups regarding his headlining role.
Following his English-language joke, Bad Bunny delivered several sentences in Spanish celebrating Latino pride and his historic achievement, The Associated Press noted. The artist then remarked that audience members who failed to comprehend his Spanish had four months to master the language, referencing his groundbreaking plan to perform the entire Super Bowl halftime show in Spanish, marking a significant milestone for Latino cultural representation.
The season premiere featured a cold open sketch parodying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent presentation to military generals. Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost portrayed Hegseth, emphasizing the defense secretary's controversial statements about troop fitness standards in which he declared exhaustion at observing overweight service members in combat formations and expressed disapproval of overweight generals and admirals at the Pentagon, AP reported.
Jost's Hegseth character proclaimed rules against overweight troops, facial hair, and body hair, demanding attractive, muscular, hairless men who definitely weren't gay, The Associated Press stated. The character then identified late night television as the greatest threat to freedom and democracy, at which point James Austin Johnson appeared as President Donald Trump.
Johnson's Trump character burst onto the scene declaring Saturday Night Live's 51st season had started poorly, noting 17 new cast members and complaining that the Weekend Update anchor was performing the opening sketch, according to AP.
Following a celebratory 50th season focused on the show's history, Saturday Night Live now turns toward its future with five new featured players joining the cast, The Associated Press reported. Multiple cast members recently departed the long-running sketch comedy program.
Bad Bunny's current week represents an extraordinary period for the artist, who not only hosted SNL but also completed a historic residency in Puerto Rico, according to AP. Sunday brought the Super Bowl halftime show announcement, capping his remarkable stretch.
Political discussions have accompanied the artist's moment in the spotlight. The Puerto Rican musician stated that immigration concerns motivated his decision to bypass the continental United States for his residency, citing worries that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials might target immigrants for deportation outside his performances, The Associated Press noted.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Friday that ICE officials would attend the Super Bowl when questioned by a podcaster about enforcement plans, stating that the Department of Homeland Security bears responsibility for event security, AP reported. Noem didn't clarify whether officials would conduct immigration enforcement or standard law enforcement duties typical at such events.
This topic provided material for a Weekend Update joke. Co-host Michael Che observed that a Trump adviser announced ICE agents would attend the Super Bowl following Bad Bunny's halftime performer announcement, then added a quip about catching farmworkers who could afford Super Bowl tickets, according to The Associated Press.
Bad Bunny appeared in multiple comedy segments during his second SNL hosting appearance, joined by musical guest Doja Cat in her debut performance in that capacity, AP stated. One sketch featured him as a Spanish ruler in 900 A.D. explaining masculine and feminine nouns in the Spanish language, with Benicio Del Toro making a surprise appearance in the popular George Washington educational sketch spinoff.
Upcoming hosts include Amy Poehler and Sabrina Carpenter in subsequent weeks, The Associated Press reported. All three performers featured prominently in 50th season celebrations, with Bad Bunny performing at the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert and serving as the previous season's final musical guest.
Former cast member Poehler will host the Oct. 11 episode with first-time musical guest Role Model in her second solo hosting role, according to AP. Her episode broadcasts exactly 50 years after Saturday Night Live's inaugural episode on Oct. 11, 1975.
Carpenter, who attracted major attention during anniversary celebrations, will serve dual roles as host and musical guest on Oct. 18, The Associated Press noted.
The restructured cast follows several prominent departures, including Ego Nwodim and Devon Walker, AP reported. Ben Marshall transitions from SNL writer to featured player, joining newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.
Nwodim, Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow all confirmed their departures from the program via social media last month, according to The Associated Press.
Last month's Emmy Awards saw the show collect 12 trophies for its 50th season and anniversary programming, including recognition for outstanding variety special, AP stated. Executive producer Lorne Michaels accepted the Emmy noting he first won the award 50 years earlier in 1975, adding that he never imagined continuing the same program for five decades, The Associated Press reported.
