‘SNL’ takes on Kari Lake, Herschel Walker ahead of 2022 midterms
“SNL” went political in its cold open, examining just how some Republican candidates like Kari Lake and Herschel Walker have surged in the polls.
Patrick Colson-Price, USA TODAY
Jack Harlow was the rapper hosting and performing on “Saturday Night Live,” but Kanye West was omnipresent on Saturday’s satirical sketch show.
During the “Weekend Update” segment, host Colin Jost fired at the unusual companies who have severed ties with the star, now known as Ye, following his recent antisemitic remarks.
“Is it just me or did half of the companies that dropped Kanye sound fake?” Jost asked. “I saw the headline, ‘TJ Maxx cuts ties with Kanye.’ I was like, ‘Did Kanye know he works for TJ Maxx?’
“Also, unless we already associate you with Kanye, you didn’t have to announce that you were cutting ties. We didn’t need Peloton to announce, ‘We’re no longer playing Kanye’s music.’ Thanks, Peloton, now we can rest easy knowing we won’t hear ‘Gold Digger’ while we have a heart attack on your bike.”
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Jost said he was looking forward to other unusual corporate responses to West.
“Dippin’ Dots will no longer work with … Scrub Daddy is cutting all ties … TCBY will discontinue their ‘Watch the Cone’ menu,” Jost said.
But the oddest company was Goodwill cutting ties, “which is somehow real,” said Jost of the charity organization. “They will no longer accept donations of Kanye’s clothing.”
“That’s ironic since Kanye has lost enough money that he might need them,” he added.
Skechers’ response to Ye visit earns fake ‘SNL’ advertisement
Another “SNL” sketch leaned into Skechers’ corporate response to the West controversy. On Wednesday, the shoe company said in a statement that Ye “arrived unannounced and without invitation” to one of the company’s Los Angeles offices and was escorted from the building by two Skechers executives.
“Here at Skechers, we pride ourselves on two things: making stylish, comfortable shoes at an affordable price and having zero tolerance for antisemitism,” a Skechers representative played by Cecily Strong said in the fake “SNL” advertisement.
Strong’s executive noted that the company was appalled by West’s “horrific comments. And we vowed not to work with him in any capacity.”
She then added, “But can we also point out, that of all companies he could’ve approached and get rejected by, he chose Skechers.”
“It took Adidas so many days to decide not to work with him. He walked in and we were, like, ‘Bye-bye, door,’ ” Strong’s character added, name-checking the #SkechersHeroes hashtag. “I’m proud to work for Skechers, when is the last time I said that?”
A Skechers representative played by Bowen Yang said, “We would never partner with him. … Thanks but no thanks, Kanye.”
“But I’m sure Kanye will find a morally dubious company to work with instead,” he added.
The fake ad ended with Mike Lindell (James Austin Johnson) announcing a MyPillow collaboration with West “effective immediately.”
