Saturday Night Live began this week’s episode by introducing viewers to Cruz Street, a new version of Sesame Street hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz, who is still upset over Big Bird getting a COVID-19 vaccine. The sketch gave Aidy Bryant a chance to shine as she played the Texas senator once again. The show aired on a kids version of the far-right cable network Newsmax.
“As you know, I was mocked for attacking Big Bird on Twitter simply because I am a human senator and he is an 8-foot-tall fictional bird,” Cruz said. “But let’s see what happened to Big Bird after he got the vaccine.” Big Bird, played by Kyle Mooney, then came on to describe his side-effects and Cruz said he could wash out the nanobots by using Borax.
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Next, Cruz brought on his show’s resident “medical expert,” Joe Rogan, played by Pete Davidson. “I used to host Fear Factor and now doctors fear me,” Rogan said. Meanwhile, the children (Melissa Villasenor, Andrew Dismukes, and Bowen Yang) were confused about everything going on because they thought the show was supposed to be for kids. “No one over 65 watches,” one kid said.
In another segment, Cruz brought on Bert and Ernie (Alex Moffatt and Mikey Day) to discuss CRT (Critical Race Theory) because they are out there “fighting” the progressive agenda as Proud Boys. However, Bert and Ernie were actually engaged, something Cruz was oblivious to. Chris Redd also played Oscar the Slouch as a person taking advantage of government handouts. Then, Count Recount (Aristotle Athari) showed up just before Cruz introduced “Freedom” as the word of the day. Britney Spears (Chloe Fineman) showed up at the last moment to celebrate her own freedom.
Although he didn’t participate in this week’s cold open, new cast member James Austin Johnson has stood out after becoming the new President Joe Biden at the start of Season 47, a surprisingly big part for a first-time cast member. It was clear though that Johnson was primarily hired for his ability to impersonate both Biden and former President Donald Trump. Johnson, who became famous for his Trump impersonations on Twitter last year, finally got to play Trump during the Nov. 6 cold open, which was structured as an episode of Justice with Judge Jeanine.
This week’s episode was hosted by Jonathan Majors, continuing this season’s streak of first-time hosts. Majors recently starred in the Marvel Disney+ series Loki and can be seen in the new Netflix Western The Harder They Fall. He also starred in Da 5 Bloods last year. Taylor Swift was the musical guest, and she only performed one song, the full, 10-minute version of “All Too Well” from Red (Taylor’s Version).
The next new SNL episode airs on Nov. 20 and features Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu as another first-time host. Saweetie, best known for the hits “Tap In” and “Best Friend,” will perform. SNL airs at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC Saturdays. ย
