‘SNL’: Issa Rae and Justin Bieber Mask up Ahead of Tonight’s Episode

Saturday Night Live Season 46 continues this weekend with Insecure star Issa Rae as host and Justin Bieber as the musical performer. Rae and Beiber both wore masks in the first teaser for the episode, while a second teaser featured Jim Carrey as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. This is Rae’s first appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series, but it will be Bieber’s fourth appearance as a musical performer. The episode begins at 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday night.

In the first preview, Rae introduced herself while wearing a see-through, plastic face shield, while Bieber wore a yellow face mask. “You can’t see it under my mask, but I have a big old smile on my face,” Bieber said as he turned to Rae. “I can’t see it, but I can feel it,” Rae replied with a smile. In Carrey’s preview, he is seen transforming into Biden while audio clips about the second presidential debate being canceled play. Carey appeared in the first two episodes of the season as Biden as well.

This weekend marks Bieber’s fourth time as the musical performer and already his second time on the show in 2020. He last appeared as a performer on the Feb. 8 episode hosted by RuPaul. Bieber also pulled double duty as host and musical performer in February 2013. This weekend, Bieber is expected to perform his latest single, “Lonely,” featuring Benny Blanco.

Bieber released the video for “Lonely” on Friday, and it features actor Jacob Tremblay playing a younger version of the singer who is grappling with international stardom at an early age. Tremblay’s Bieber ends the video by looking out from a stage to see he is only performing for one person, the real Bieber. The singer’s other recent singles include “Holy” with Chance the Rapper and “Stuck With U” with Ariana Grande.

Rae, 35, is best known for starring in HBO’s acclaimed sitcom Insecure, which earned her two Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations. She also starred in The Lovebirds, opposite Kumail Nanjiani. The film was set for a theatrical release in the spring but was made available on Netflix due to the coronavirus pandemic. The comedian is now working on the fifth season of Insecure, which she created with Larry Wilmore. Last month, she consolidated her own production company, Issa Rae Productions, into the new Hoorae production company, which will develop new films, shows ad digital content. The company’s upcoming projects include Sinkhole, a collaboration with producer Jordan Peele, reports Variety.