Latest news with #Nwodim
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘SNL' Cast Unpacks Season 50 Including Miss Eggy, Chloe Fineman's Big Dumb Line, Straight Bowen Yang & Sarah Sherman Nearly Getting 'Jacked'
While Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary this season – with a star-studded special that featured many of the 167 iconic cast members that have appeared on the show – there was another change that helped it 'get back to its roots'. Since Season 45, the season interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, cast, writers and crew have performed the read-through in studio 8H on the show floor, but this season they were able to get back to the 17th floor where it has historically always taken place. More from Deadline Who's Leaving 'SNL'? Rumor Mill Heats Up As Season 50 Heads To A Close 'Saturday Night Live' Wraps Season 50 With No Cast Goodbyes In Finale As NBC Series Prepares For Departures 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming Bowen Yang, who joined the show as a writer in Season 44 before being promoted to a cast member for Season 45, said returning to the 17th floor was a 'huge deal'. 'From the first season to the 45th, read through is on the 17th floor, and then, because of Covid, because we just had to work with spatial limitations, and wanted a bigger space so we used the studio [8H] floor and we all got used to it. Four years in, it rearranged our spatial awareness as the week progresses. There's something about being back on the 17th floor where the wins feel bigger and the bombs don't feel quite as devastating, which was good for morale. It felt like this return home, in terms of the spirit of the show and where we all got to get back to the show's roots in some ways even though we're like a new, scrappy cast,' he said. The cast returned to the 17th floor after the 50th anniversary special on February 16. Ego Nwodim agreed with Yang that it felt like a 'return home'. Yang and Nwodim were speaking alongside their castmates Heidi Gardner, Sarah Sherman, James Austin Johnson and Chloe Fineman at an FYC event in LA. During the event, which was moderated by former cast member Fred Armisen, the group broke down Season 50 including the most controversial and fun sketches. For the record, the topic of who is staying on the show for Season 51 didn't come up at all. In terms of the 50th, Nwodim said having all of the alumni in the building was a 'surreal experience'. 'At one point, there was an event honoring Lorne [Michaels] between the concert on February 14 and the special and Heidi said to me 'I thought there were 500 people in this cast and I'm realizing there's only a hundred-and-something of us ever to be in the cast'. What a special honor to get to be part of that club or family. The 50th felt really nostalgic and beautiful,' she said. Sherman added that the 50th 'felt like a little present for us sometimes too'. 'We work really hard and it can get really crazy sometimes and it was like 'Yo, what's up, it's Paul McCartney',' she added. There was so much focus on the 50th anniversary, that it's tough to remember that Season 50 kicked off at the end of September with Jean Smart hosting and headed straight into a major Presidential election. In fact, the cold open of the first episode featured some notable former SNL stars; Maya Rudolph returned as Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg played her husband Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey played President Joe Biden and Jim Gaffigan played Tim Walz. In later episodes, Mike Myers returned to play Elon Musk, after Carvey had portrayed him immediately after the election. James Austin Johnson, who plays President Donald Trump on the show, said those cold opens were 'pretty crazy'. 'I've done a few of those before, but the added pressure of the 50th and the added pressure of my comedy idols being up there with us on some of those sketches… it was just Bowen and I looking at each other, like, 'look at us with these all stars'. It made me want to raise my game and match their level. That was what the whole season was about. For me, I want to find the path to be as good as these people I've looked up to and here they are sharing the stage,' he added. Johnson joined the show in Season 47. He said this season was the first where he took out the three new cast members – Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline – for lunch to give them a 'rundown'. 'This was the first year I cared about another living soul,' he joked. 'I came to SNL with my wife, who was pregnant at the time, and I was so wrapped up in our internal drama. This season was the first one where I [thought] I can do this. I know this, and I want to share that data with these new guys. And they're all geniuses. They're all so ready. I was blown away by all three of them. They're such naturals.' Johnson also played Bob Dylan, which may have had a 'little bit to do with Timothée Chalamet making a movie about him', joking that it 'shouldn't have been on TV'. 'My specific Bob Dylan is like 2006 Sirius XM Theme Time Radio Bob Dylan. Already we are getting way too record store employee granular about what era of Dylan to even be making fun of,' he said. One of Chloe Fineman's breakout sketches this season was Big Dumb Line, which featured her, Yang, Sherman and host Mikey Madison, waiting for something viral, which could be food or toothpaste. Written by Fineman, Alison Gates and Kent Sublette and directed by Tim Wilkime, the sketch also featured Joe Jonas. 'Sometimes you'll have 15 ideas on a Monday or Tuesday and they never go anywhere but it was one of those Tuesdays where everything was a no and I pulled up an old Notes app of ideas I've had. Forever 31 was one I'd had for a really long time and the other was Big Dumb Line. They were things I never thought anyone would want to do but Alison and Kent, our head writers [thought] they were great and they both came about. They are kind of critiques on people or things I don't like about myself. But the line thing is an epidemic in the West Village. It's also in Los Feliz, it's Silver Lake, it's in Echo Park, it's in London,' she said. Nwodim's breakout sketch of the season was Miss Eggy, where the eponymous stand-up pitches herself to host the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The sketch, which aired on April 5 and was written by Josh Patten, Asha Ward, Carl Tart, and Will Stephen, caused a little bit of controversy after Nwodim turned the microphone to the crowd and they responded, albeit the second time they cursed. 'We're gonna get fired for that,' Nwodim's Miss Eggy replied. 'Y'all gonna have to pay for that. Lorne's gonna be mad at y'all.' Nwodim said that the sketch, which was part of Weekend Update, saw her have to do live choreography to avoid blocking Colin Jost or Michael Che. 'That was kind of a fun challenge for me,' she said. She joked that it would have been 'easier' and more 'comfortable' if she'd been doing it from behind the desk, but you'd lose something if she wasn't pacing. 'The audience never says anything on SNL. We didn't expect them to say anything. They're just supposed to laugh or not laugh, but we didn't expect them to say anything. But I think because I was in front of the desk and I was pacing, and I was doing something perhaps they hadn't seen before, they're like, 'Oh, we're in this, we're all having a time together. We were doing a dance together, and then they did a move I didn't expect,' she said. 'They really threw me for a loop. But it was so exciting, because I love improv, and so getting to play with them was so fun.' Armisen praised Heidi Gardner's physical comedy on the show. 'A couple years ago, I fell through a desk, and it was really fun, and I thought I want to do that more,' Gardner said. 'Whether it's falling through a wall or just pushing my body physically, it's been fun. I'll think I know a character but it's really cool to be out there and feeding off of what the audience is responding to. What monster am I making?' She added that sometimes people know those monsters. 'I had someone write to me and they're like 'I had a really complicated relationship with [their] mother and that character really made me miss her and I really didn't like her'. Great.' The character? Mom visiting New York. Yang said there's an 'interiority' to Gardner's characters, especially on Weekend Update. 'You see the glances sort of skew a certain way and it just, it telegraphs it for the audience in a way that is this guiding hand. It's like, here's where I'm going, come with me, and it's going to be a safe, fun place for you,' he said. Sherman said that it's not always big, broad strokes, though. 'You'll have like a mini body roll, or like character has a twitch that is different from another character's twitch,' she added. Sherman has become one of the most recent breakout stars of the show, having joined in Season 47 with characters such as RFK Jr.'s brain worm, clad in a 'couture' worm outfit. But she revealed that she pitched one sketch this season that has yet to make it to air. 'I had a thing for the finale that we wrote on a Tuesday night till 5am, no problem, it's not like, I'm holding a grudge about it. I was f*cking jacked, so I had giant veiny jacked arms. Close your eyes, if you will. And in your minds' eye, imagine I have giant veiny pulsing, jacked arms, pecs, a giant chin, and I have just been a mocap actor for the Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park. Cut before table read. Don't pity me. She will live again,' Sherman said. One of Yang's most popular sketches over the last couple of years is Bowen's Straight. He initially hooked up with Sydney Sweeney before reprising his heterosexual alter-ego in the Season 50 finale alongside Scarlett Johansson. Yang revealed that the sketch, which was written by Gary Richardson, Auguste White and Will Stephen, was originally Bowen's Bisexual before going 'full-tilt hetero'. 'I do like that people have stopped to point out to me [that I] still talk like a gay person. I'm presenting as an effeminate man in my dress and in my mannerisms, besides the little bro-isms, [but] when you follow him home and you see what his home life is, it's really devastating,' he joked. In the most recent sketch, Yang seems to sleep with Gina Gershon, Nwodim and Gardner before taking off to Tokyo with Emily Ratajkowski in his sports car with its Y4ng B4ng license plate. 'Who's idea was it to slap me on the ass?,' asked Nwodim. 'That was mine,' replied Yang. 'Bowen and I sit next to each other at table read, and he leans over and says 'I hope it's okay that I smack you on the ass in this',' she continued. 'I look like I was enjoying it, because I did.' The awards love-in belies the fact that there will likely be changes on show ahead of Season 51. But regardless, it's clear that this group are close. 'We all like each other, for real,' said Sherman. 'It's like we always say 'SNL, when you're here your family'. And I feel like these are my family members,' added Nwodim. Best of Deadline 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out? List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘SNL's Weekend Update Sees Triumphant Return Of Ego Nwodim's Crowd-Pleasing Alter Ego Miss Eggy (No FCC Slip-Ups This Time)
Miss Eggy is back and men ain't what? Amid a whirlwind Season 50 finale episode featuring a traditional Weekend Update joke swap, the Saturday Night Live anchor desk also saw the triumphant return of crowd favorite Miss Eggy, an ebullient and pun-filled comedic alter ego of MVP Ego Nwodim's. More from Deadline 'Saturday Night Live' Opens With 'Fake' Donald Trump Defending Qatar's 'Gift' Of A Jumbo Jet — An Hour After The Real POTUS Did The Same 'SNL' May Avoid FCC Probe Over 'Sh*t' Talk From Studio Audience During Weekend Update Skit Weekend Update Joke Swap Sees Michael Che Atone For Scarlett Johansson Joke As Colin Jost Comes For Lorne Michaels' Throne: "Retire B*tch" This time, the comedienne was asked back to comment on Newark's airport safety, acting out a bit while on a JetBlue flight. 'You know her, you love her, you got her fined by the FCC,' Jost introduced, as Nwodim's character quickly got down to brass tacks about the real problem plaguing travel: bad airplane cuisine. Ever the wordsmith and whip-smart as always, Miss Eggy refused the butternut squash ravioli, telling the attendant, 'more like, better-not offer me that mess 'till you put some meat in it,' punctuating the statement with her signature 'sucka!' She added in a separate one-liner about dry Biscoff cookies: 'More like you about to piss a bisc-off.' Another top contender: 'Flight attendant saying the only sandwich they got on this plane is a turkey pesto on ciabatta. All I know is this bitch ci-boutta lose her life. That bread was harder than my man when I get out the tub; his name's Maurice, but I call him Tray, because he stay in the upright and locked position.' Miss Eggy's other gripe? 'And y'all went and took peanuts off the plane because everybody wanna have an allergy. If you don't take a Benadryl and shut your gay ass up.' 'And how about that TSA, huh? Putting on them Papa Smurf gloves, thinking they can feel me up just because I got a gun,' she said, as she prompted the audience for another call-and-response. While the crowd accurately shouted-out earlier that Miss Eggy don't 'play,' it was remiss to respond 'strapped' when she asked, 'Cause Miss Eggy stay what?' Nwodim concluded her time with a truly terrific Eggs Benedict pun, and based on audience response, it seems the midsize bag-carrying problematic auntie comic is welcome to the anchor desk anytime. Watch the bit above. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far
NBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
"SNL" star Ego Nwodim sports Crystal Palace shirt after cousin Eberechi Eze leads team to FA Cup win
"Saturday Night Live" cast member Ego Nwodim celebrated the end of the show's historic 50th season the usual way, by socializing on stage in Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center in New York City. She was there with the host, Scarlett Johansson, the musical guest, Bad Bunny, and fellow cast members. But her heart may have been dreaming of celebrations on the other side of the Atlantic. Nwodim made sure cameras captured her upper torso as she sported a Crystal Palace jersey with the name of her cousin, English soccer star Eberechi Eze, on the back. Hours earlier, Eze had helped Palace win the first major trophy in its 120-year professional history, scoring the only goal in the Eagles' 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. In a 2023 interview for the Crystal Palace website, Eze revealed the family relation and said he had given Nwodim one of his jerseys. 'That's my cousin,' he told a team interviewer who asked why an "SNL" cast member had worn his jersey. 'She came down to London and I gave her a shirt. So that's quite sick.' The shirt Nwodim wore Saturday matches the club's third shirt from the 2022/23 season. She has worn it at least one other time on the show. Nwodim and Eze share Igbo Nigerian heritage, with Eze having grown up in his team's backyard of South London and Nwodim in Baltimore. The relatives were both a part of history on Saturday. SNL completed a 50-season run that launched when it was still a hippie showcase featuring folk stars and psychedelic comedy. Eze led his team to a win at a historic place, too — Wembley Stadium.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
SNL writers are slammed as racist for 'two b*****s versus a gorilla' skit
Saturday Night Live has been slammed for a tone deaf skit describing two black women as 'b***hes.' Quinta Brunson and Ego Nwodim took part in the skit capitalizing on the viral meme '100 men vs a gorilla ', playing two women arguing with a gorilla inside an enclosure. 'Why you starin' like you got a problem? Can I have my face back?' Brunson asks. 'You think this the first time I've fought a 400 pound b***h? I used to work at Lane Bryant,' she adds, referring to the plus sized women's clothing store. Nwodim then interjects, adding: 'You up here on all fours lookin' like LGBT and the Q, sassy.' During the skit, the women refer to each other as b***h as an apparent term of endearment, with Nwodim telling Brunson 'that was good b***h' after she made a joke at the expense of the gorilla. Brunson answered: 'Thank you b***h.' Separately, she said to the gorilla, 'you supposed to be all big and strong? Stand up. It's giving one of the gworls' - which is a slang word for 'girls' to refer to women, especially those within the black trans community. The sketch has been widely panned on social media, with a post from the SNL team inundated with criticism. 'Incredibly offensive and ignorant to address any woman as a B**CH from an entire television network,' one wrote. Another added: 'Y'all might as well go ahead and say ''two black b**ches vs a gorilla.' A third critic said 'this don't sit right with me at all. ''Can I have my face back?'' 'LGBT and Q'' + fat shaming? ''It's giving one of the girls''. No way they are this tone deaf... This is flat out disrespectful.' 'This had to go through multiple people after being written, and not a single one of them thought this was a bad idea?' another asked. 'They're back to mocking black women using two black women? Yuck.' Others pointed out that the joke started as 100 men vs the gorilla, yet has somehow devolved into 'two black women' vs the gorilla. The initial meme began on X and swept the internet last week, with people like Elon Musk and MrBeast weighing in. two bitches vs. a gorilla — Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 4, 2025 The sketch has been widely panned on social media, with a post from the SNL team inundated with criticism It posed the question about whether 100 men could take down a single gorilla, to which Musk said he'd be willing to volunteer. 'Sure. What's the worst that could happen?' he asked. Mike Tyson said the gorilla 'would get f***ed up' if it had to go up against 100 heavyweight champions. But critics say Brunson and Nwodim's skit was 'rooted in anti-Black racism. An African and a Caribbean cosplaying a stereotypical Black American woman is not funny.' has approached NBC for comment. Critics say Brunson and Nwodim's skit was 'rooted in anti-Black racism. An African and a Caribbean cosplaying a stereotypical Black American woman is not funny' Supporters argued that Brunson likely writes her own skits and must have approved of the sketch before it went to air. Others argued that one of the most controversial lines - 'can I have my face back?' - is a common phrase to call out a person who is staring too long, and does not have the racist connotations that others have interpreted it as. 'Maybe it's a generational thing?' one person queried while defending the phrase. Others accused critics of simply being too 'woke' or sensitive to enjoy the humor.
CNN
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Bowen Yang feels very bleeping strongly that ‘SNL' should be able to use profanity for comic effect
Bowen Yang is pleading his case for why he thinks he and his 'Saturday Night Live' castmates should be able to use profanity on the sketch show. Yang spoke his mind on Wednesday's episode of his podcast 'Las Culturistas,' which he cohosts with Matt Rogers, telling Rogers and their guest Amy Poehler that he thinks the cast should be able to buck Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and use certain swear words on live television throughout the season. 'We should be able to say at least five s—s and five f—s on 'SNL' per season,' Yang said, adding that he feels 'so hampered in our comedy at 'SNL' by not being able to say' those two words in sketches. Yang argued that 'SNL' should get an exception from the FCC, a federal organization that prohibits the use of profanity from being broadcast on TV. 'It would bring a sketch to the next level,' he said. The 'Wedding Banquet' star added that he feels s— and f— 'are so comedically powerful as words, I really think it would help us.' Rogers asked Yang if the FCC 'came down' on 'SNL' after profanity was used during the April 6 episode, albeit unplanned. In the sketch, 'SNL' castmember Ego Nwodim did a bit on 'Weekend Update' where she lobbied to be the White House Correspondents Dinner event's comedic host by showing off her standup comedy chops. Nwodim, appearing as her standup persona 'Miss Eggy,' issued a call and response to the audience at one point when she asked, 'because men ain't what?' and held her mic out toward the audience, who responded by saying 's—' – much to Nwodim, and 'Weekend Update' anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che's, surprise. 'We're gonna get fined for that,' Nwodim quipped in the skit. As it turns out, nothing ever came of it, at least as far as Yang is aware. 'I don't think anything came down, which I love,' he shared on his podcast this week.
