VIDEO ‘SNL’ Skits From Last Night: Watch Cold Open, Weekend Update Mocks Will Smith’s Oscars Ban

“Saturday Night Live” opened up its latest episode with a sketch about the Supreme Court confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson. The episode was hosted by actor Jake Gyllenhaal and featured musical guest Camila Cabello.

Along with several discussions about the confirmation, “SNL” also touched on the aftermath of actor Will Smith slapping former castmember Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Here are some of the notable sketches from the 17th episode of “Saturday Night Live” Season 47.

Cold Open

The NBC comedy sketch show kicked off the night with a look at Jackson after she received her Supreme Court confirmation. The skit opened with Ego Nwodim playing Jackson while James Austin Johnson played President Joe Biden.

“I promised to put a Black woman on the court, and that is what I did. So that is one campaign promise down and only 74 to go,” Johnson said.

Jackson replied, “I was happy to do my part. Work twice as hard as a white man my entire life and then spend a week listening to Ted Cruz call me a pedophile.”

Biden then advised Jackson to take time alone to soak in the moment and advised her to imagine talking to some of the greats that came before her.

Jackson then received a visit from late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, played by Kate McKinnon.

“O.K., here’s my advice. Always label your lunches. So the justices, they got sticky fingers. Second, if you are anything like me, white ladies are going to start wearing buttons of your face," Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg then empathized with Jackson about the stressful confirmation process. “Look, I know your confirmation process put you through the wringer, but in the end, people do the right thing. And you know, I was confirmed in the Senate 96 to 3, so what was your vote?” Ginsburg asked.

“53 to 47,” Jackson replied. “Yeah, a lot of them walked out and one guy kept asking me if babies are racist.”

Jackson was then visited by the first Black justice on the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall, played by Kenan Thompson. Marshall assumed Jackson was at least the 10th or 20th Black Supreme Court justice and appeared disappointed to learn she was only the third.

Jackson also received visits from Harriet Tubman, played by Punkie Johnson, and Jackie Robinson, played by Chris Redd, before the actors yelled, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

Opening Monologue

During Gyllenhaal’s return to the stage, 15 years after his “SNL” debut, the actor reflected on how much time had passed since he hosted the show. “That was like 400 Marvel movies ago,” he said.

“To give you an idea of what it was like in 2007, in the show I hosted, there was a George W. Bush sketch, there were jokes about the first iPhone, and this is a photo of me from my monologue,” he continued as he showed a photograph of himself in a dress and wig.

“There I am in full drag, singing a song from ‘Dreamgirls,’ to promote a movie where I played a gay cowboy,” Gyllenhaal explained.

“That was actually the least problematic thing in that episode, but looking back, I feel like I was a totally different person.”

Gyllenhaal then revealed he didn’t think he would get called to host the show again after so many years have passed. “But being here tonight, it feels like everything is suddenly coming back,” he said while taking a microphone.

The actor then burst into a rendition of Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” with Cecily Strong, Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman, as his backup singers.

Weekend Update

The “SNL” fake news segment touched on several topics, including the Academy’s decision to ban Smith from the Oscars for a decade after he slapped Rock for making fun of Jada Pinkett’s shaved head at the 2022 ceremony.

“As punishment for slapping Chris Rock, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars for 10 years,” co-host Colin Jost said.

“But is that a punishment? He can still be nominated. He can even win an award. He can even go to the after-party. He just doesn’t have to attend the four-hour ceremony where someone is definitely going to make fun of his wife again.”

Jost revealed he had a better idea for punishment while sharing a photo of himself and Michael Che awkwardly hosting the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards.

“Honestly, I think a real punishment would be to make Will Smith host next year’s Oscars. Because trust me, nothing will make you question your choices in life more than hosting an awards show,” Jost said.

Singer Lizzo will pull double duty as host and musical guest on the next episode of “Saturday Night Live.”