Brian Laundrie Dog the Bounty Hunter Bit on 'SNL' Upsets Onlookers

By Daniel S. Levine

Pete Davidson debuted a hilarious impression of reality star Duane "Dog" Chapman during a sketch on this weekend's Saturday Night Live season premiere, but some viewers found it objectionable, suggesting it trivialized the death of Gabby Petito. The parody of the Dog the Bounty Hunter star was featured in the "School Board Meeting" sketch, which acted as a "catch-all" for various jokes about crazy complaints from parents. Chapman showed up to ask the school board members, played by Alex Moffat and Ego Nwodim, if they had any idea where Brian Laundrie was.

Davidson wore a wig, an all-black shirt and had a smoking cigarette in his hand as he asked the board members if they knew where Laundrie was. "I can't find this dude anywhere!" he complained. "I got no leads on this guy. Either he's good, or I'm bad. One or the two." Of course, the board members had no idea. Moffat suggested he would let Dog know if they do see Laundrie. "That would mean the world to me, bra," Dog said. Then, Nwodim reminded the parents that the board meaning was meant to be about coronavirus polices at schools.

'Poor taste'

While some critics thought the joke was making fun of a person's death, it seemed more like a parody of the real-life Chapman's decision to get involved in the hunt for Laundrie after Petito's disappearance already attracted national attention. Since he showed up at the North Port, Florida home where Laundrie lived with his parents on Sept. 25, Chapman has claimed to have found his own leads in the search for Laundrie and is urging people to contact him with tips. He is also not always working with the police, a decision he defended during a Newsmax appearance. Laundrie was last seen by his parents on Sept. 14 and was reported missing a few days later. He is a person of interest in Petito's death and there is a federal warrant out for his arrest on a debit card fraud charge.

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'That wasn't funny'

This was not the only reference to the Petito case during the SNL premiere. In "Weekend Update," Nowdim starred as "A Black Woman Who's Been Missing for 10 Years" to parody the media's obsession with the case while the cases of missing minority women are often ignored. "Look at the white lady's reward - $10,000. That's a new car!" Nwodim's character said. "Now check out the reward for me. A $15 gift card for Chili's Too. You got to go to an airport to use that, Colin. They offering chips and guacamole to find a human soul. Come on."

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'A stand alone skit might have been funny enough if SNL could still be funny'

"A dog the bounty hunter on the Laundrie case as a stand alone skit might have been funny enough if SNL could still be funny," one critic wrote.

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'SNL is officially done'

"Instead of laughing... audience should have just gotten up and left...silence is better in that situation since any protests would fall on deaf ears! Future ratings are how we make a stand. SNL is officially done," one person wrote.

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'SNL doesn't deserve your time'

"SNL doesn't deserve your time. It's over. It was over with Musk. Apparently a Laundrie joke tonight. I feel like MAD TV reruns would be better," one person wrote.

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'That would be disgusting'

"Did #SNL do a Dog the Bounty Hunter and Brian Laundrie skit? Because that would be disgusting towards #gabbypetitio," one person wrote.

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