“Saturday Night Live” is on a brief hiatus.
There won’t be a new episode of “SNL” on Saturday, April 19. The sketch comedy show will return on Saturday, May 3, with host Quinta Brunson and musical guest Benson Boone. Brunson previously hosted in April 2023, while Boone will be making his “SNL” debut.
The break comes after a string of new “SNL” episodes. Beginning on Saturday, March 29, Mikey Madison, Jack Black, and Jon Hamm hosted back to back, with musical guests Morgan Wallen, Elton John & Brandi Carlile, and Lizzo.
“SNL” sparked backlash last week with a “White Lotus” spoof titled “White POTUS” starring James Austin Johnson as President Donald Trump. Sarah Sherman played Aimee Lou Wood’s “White Lotus” character, Chelsea, and donned fake teeth to imitate the actress’ much-discussed tooth gap. Wood called the sketch “mean and unfunny” via her Instagram Story on Sunday, April 13.
“Yes, take the piss for sure – that’s what the show is about — but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?” Wood wrote.
The “Sex Education” alum noted that she was “not hating on” Sherman specifically, but rather “hating on the concept.”
“I don’t mind caricature – I understand that’s what ‘SNL’ is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on,” she explained.
READ MORE: Beloved ‘SNL’ star reacts to Morgan Wallen’s abrupt exit from the show
Two days later, Wood shared a photo of a bouquet via her Instagram Story, noting that Sherman had sent her the “beautiful flowers.”
Sarah Sherman as Chelsea in the “SNL” White Potus sketch.Holland Rainwater/NBC
In addition to Sherman and Johnson, the “White Potus” sketch starred Chloe Fineman as Melania Trump, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr., Alex Moffat as Eric Trump, Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump, Jon Hamm as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Heidi Gardner as Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Ashley Padilla as United States Attorney General Pam Bondi, Marcello Ramirez as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin.
In the skit, each political figure was modeled after a character from season 3 of “The White Lotus.” Trump was Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs), RFK Jr. was Rick Hatchett (Walton Goggins), and so on. Lizzo played a version of herself inspired by “The White Lotus” fan-favorite Belinda (Natasha Rothwell).
“Saturday Night Live” is available to stream on Peacock.
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