Saturday Night Live has faced criticism from viewers across the political spectrum following jokes made by cast member Colin Jost during the latest edition of its Weekend Update segment.
The backlash began after Jost made remarks about Abdul El-Sayed, who recently made history by becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate following his victory in Michigan during last week’s midterm elections.
The Weekend Update segment focused on politics and the sweeping Democratic victories recorded in the elections.
Introducing El-Sayed’s historic achievement, Jost began by saying, “Abdul El-Sayed made history as the first Muslim…” before being interrupted by loud applause and cheers from the studio audience.
He continued by describing El-Sayed as the first Muslim elected to the Senate before adding, “Well, first openly Muslim.”
At that moment, an image of former President Barack Obama appeared beside him, referencing longstanding rumours about Obama’s religious beliefs.
Jost glanced at the photograph with a smirk as the audience laughed.
Joke About Chuck Schumer Also Draws Attention
Jost made another joke while discussing El-Sayed’s reported interest in replacing Chuck Schumer as Senate majority leader.
The comedian suggested that after completing a campaign like El-Sayed’s, his first priority would not be calling for the removal of a Jewish politician.
“If I had just gone through the campaign he did, I don’t think my first move would be: ‘Get rid of the Jewish guy!'” Jost said.
El-Sayed has previously faced accusations of antisemitism over his strong criticism of Israel, his association with controversial political commentator Hasan Piker and comments he made following an attack on a synagogue in the Detroit area.
He was criticised after saying that “hurt people hurt people” in response to the incident.
The senator-elect later apologised for the remark.
El-Sayed has repeatedly condemned antisemitism, maintaining that his criticism is directed at the Israeli government rather than Jewish people generally.
Viewers Accuse Jost and SNL of Islamophobia
The remarks prompted angry reactions from some viewers on X, with several describing the jokes as Islamophobic and accusing the comedian and the programme of being sympathetic to Zionism.
One user criticised Jost, writing: “Boooo @ColinJost bad islamaphobic joke. Racist a**.”
Another described the remarks as particularly offensive, saying: “Yikes, this is really bad, like already attacking Abdul even if it’s a ‘joke’ in this way is really vile.”
A third user sarcastically commented: “Oh no SNL are Zionists, shock, awe.”
Another viewer also questioned Jost’s response to the accusations, writing: “Colin not beating the zionist accusations… and still not funny after all these years.”
Elon Musk Joke Triggers Conservative Backlash
The programme also attracted criticism from conservative viewers over a separate sketch targeting billionaire Elon Musk.
In the segment, cast member Jeremy Culhane portrayed Musk during an interview with Jost about Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Musk’s company, xAI.
Jost asked Culhane to explain the chatbot’s vulgar roasting feature, prompting the comedian to imitate Musk’s stuttering speech.
“It’s my AI Grok’s most epic, hardcore feature,” Culhane said, describing it as extremely vulgar and funny.
He subsequently pulled out a phone and asked the chatbot to deliver an insulting roast of him while pretending to be Musk.
The AI-generated response mocked several aspects of the billionaire’s life, including his background, television appearances and relationship with his children.
“Elon Musk, you’re the worst thing South Africa has ever done,” the voice said.
It continued by making a joke about Musk’s television appearances before adding: “Maybe if you have 100 more kids, one of them will talk to you.”
Katie Miller Accuses SNL of Taking Cheap Shots at Musk
The sketch attracted criticism from Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, who was recently elevated to the position of Trump’s chief of staff following the Republican Party’s midterm election defeat.
Katie described the programme as the opposite of comedy and satire, accusing its writers of taking cheap shots at Musk, particularly over his children.
“SNL is literally the antithesis of comedy and satire.
It takes weak men to take cheap shots — especially about @elonmusk’s kids,” she wrote.
She also defended Musk’s relationship with his children, claiming he is a devoted father who prioritises spending time with them.
“Elon is a devoted dad who prioritizes time with his kids and it’s obvious they absolutely adore him.
This is just a political hit job masquerading under the banner of comedy. Make comedy actually funny again,” she added.
Social Media Users Divided Over Musk Sketch
Katie’s criticism received mixed reactions, with some X users agreeing with her assessment of the programme.
One commenter described the show as a Democratic propaganda platform, writing: “Fact. It’s just another democratic propaganda machine.”
Another user expressed dissatisfaction with contemporary comedy, saying: “It’s difficult to find any humor in today’s comedy.”
A third commenter also criticised the programme’s humour, adding: “And they aren’t even good at it. SNL hasn’t been funny since the 80s.”
The separate controversies over the El-Sayed and Musk jokes left Saturday Night Live facing criticism from both liberal and conservative viewers following the broadcast.
