Saturday Night Live returned this weekend for the premiere of its 51st season, and took a shot at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the process.
The cold open, which featured longtime cast member Colin Jost, ridiculed Hegseth’s recent speech to generals in Virginia.
Why It Matters
On November 30, Hegseth gave a speech to military leaders at Quantico, Virginia, and called for an end to “woke” culture in the U.S. military.
In the speech, he announced that the U.S. military will be imposing the “highest” male standards for all combat roles. This will mean that fewer women will be able to serve in combat duty. The speech has been praised by the likes of Joe Rogan but criticized by female veterans.
Hegseth has previously been vocal in his opposition to women serving in combat and said in the speech, “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”
What To Know
In the skit, Jost lampoons Hegseth and decries the U.S. military as being “gay as hell.”
Jost walks out to a loud rock music song before yelling, “Yeah, cut the track.”
“Thanks to failed liberal policies, our army has never been gayer, and yet, it’s also never been fatter,” Jost shouts. The camera then cuts to a clip of the military, and Jost remarks, “Y’all are fun.”
Continuing the skit, Jost says, “Our military will now have the same rules as any good frat party—no fat chicks. And if you’re a fat dude, goddamn it, you better be funny as hell.”
Jost is then interrupted by James Austin Johnson, who plays President Donald Trump. He arrives and says, “I’m just here keeping my eye on SNL, making sure they don’t do anything too mean about me. And they better be careful, because I know late-night TV like the back of my hand.”
This has been taken to be a nod to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was referenced earlier in the show during the cold open, which spoofed the idea that SNL could face a similar fate. Kimmel’s show was taken off air after remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but the show was later reinstated.
What People Are Saying
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in his speech to military leaders in Virginia: “This administration has done a great deal from day one to remove the social justice, politically correct and toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department, to rip out the politics.
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction, or gender delusions, no more debris. As I’ve said before and will say again, we are done with that s***. I’ve made it my mission to uproot the obvious distractions that made us less capable and less lethal.”
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