Saturday Night Live kicked off its 50th season, and it was certainly made special as it starred acclaimed actress Jean Smart and singer Jelly Roll. The episode became even more special with a Weekend Update segment, during which Colin Jost joked about replacing Hoda Kotb on the Today Show following Matt Lauer’s departure.
On the September 28 episode, The Weekend Update segment hosted by Jost and Michael Che made sure to fill viewers in on the ongoing news, be it about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Diddy or Kotb’s exit from TODAY .
Speaking about the veteran journalist, Jost said, “Hoda Kotb announced she will be leaving the Today show.” She added that Kotb said she would “remember her time on the show very much, not at all,” as a photo of her holding a glass of wine was shown on screen.
He added, “Hoda Kotb will be replaced by—oh no!—Matt Lauer—by.” Lauer’s face appeared on the screen with a wig on his head. According to People magazine, he was fired from the show after allegations were made about his behavior.
However, the SNL premiere also included a slightly surprise reunion of The Hacks actresses, Smart and her co-star Hannah Einbinder, who made a cameo appearance while announcing the musical guest, Jelly Roll.
The episode was certainly important for the country singer as he made his stage debut and performed “Liar” and “Winning Streak” from his upcoming tenth studio album, Beautifully Broken. She also posted about her look on Instagram.
In addition to the aforementioned hosts and musical guests, we’ll also get to see Coldplay with Nate Bargatz, John Mulaney with Chappelle Rhone, Ariana Grande with Stevie Nicks, and Michael Keaton with Billie Eilish.
Beloved star Punky Johnson shocked everyone when she announced her departure from Season 50 of the show. He posted about this on his Instagram. Along with him, Chloe Trost and Molly Kearney have also said goodbye to the show.
However, new names have also been added to the cast list of the show, which are, Emil Wakim, Ashley Padilla and Jen Wickline. Additionally, Marcelo Hernandez, Devon Walker, and Michael Longfellow were promoted to the show’s main cast.
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