SNL: Mark Wahlberg Takedown, E! Mocked for Gender Pay Gap and More
Saturday Night Live proved especially woke this weekend, unleashing fire and fury on Mark Wahlberg in the form of Lil’ Baby Aidy.
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Cast member Aidy Bryant appeared during Weekend Update to discuss the controversy surrounding Wahlberg’s payday for All the Money in the World reshoots, for which he received $1.5 million compared to female costar Michelle Williams’ $1,000. Having only donated his earnings to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund after being dragged by the court of public opinion, Bryant said, “It would be so cool if it didn’t take a week-long public shaming to do the right thing.”
Not only was the episode as a whole socially conscious, but it managed to be pretty darn funny, too. Case in point: a sketch in which host Sam Rockwell played one of the E! Network panelists trying not to come off as sexist while critiquing Golden Globe fashions. The NBC-owned cable network was also mocked for its own gender pay gap disparity, with Rockwell’s Dean Swizz revealed to make significantly more money than Cecily Strong’s Rochelle Koontz:
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Though Rockwell’s episode is likely to be remembered for that accidental F-bomb, he proved himself to be a rather excellent host overall. After a lively song-and-dance number about his rise from character actor to Golden Globe winner, the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star brought his A-game as a secretly gay pastor and a member of the (Stanley) Tucci Gang.
Keep scrolling for additional highlights…
TUCCI GANG
This music video worked on two levels, both as a spot-on parody of Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang,” and as a tribute to the ubiquitous Stanley Tucci. What Rockwell and Pete Davidson accomplished here, as ridiculous as it might have been, was nothing short of brilliant.
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MY DRUNK BOYFRIEND
Rockwell, Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney nailed the subtle physical comedy required to make this one work, portraying life-sized dolls programmed to mimic the behavior of inebriated significant others.
MARCUS COMES TO DINNER
This sketch didn’t play well… until suddenly it did. It was only in the last minute or so, as Rockwell pointed out the ramifications of ID’ing his son’s gay porn star boyfriend, that it morphed into something both tragic and hilarious.
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CHANTIX COMMERCIAL
Cecily Strong’s contributions to the show often get overlooked, so let’s not do that here. Instead, let’s take a moment to appreciate her laugh-out-loud performance as a Chantix user driven to smoke again by the testimonial’s condescending voiceover.
GENETICS LAB
If the visualization of a dog with human hands eating a sandwich doesn’t make you laugh, there’s really no helping you.
What were your favorite sketches of the night? And what missed the mark? Grade the episode via the following poll, then hit the comments to flesh out your thoughts.
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