Bowen Yang and Chappell Roan are good to go.
The “Red Wine Supernova” singer quelled any lingering speculation that she’d been offended by the comedian’s September 2024 Saturday Night Live sketch during which he quoted Chappell while parodying baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng.
The Grammy winner declared that she “wasn’t even mad” about the viral moment during an April 16 appearance on Bowen’s podcast Las Culturistas after cohost Matt Rogers brought up how fans were “dragging” the sketch.
After Matt posited that he thought she would’ve considered the parody funny, Chappell confirmed that suspicion, saying, “I did! I didn’t feel anything.”
The singer then reiterated that she isn’t mad about it before Bowen recounted speaking to their mutual friend Sasha Colby about the backlash.
“I was like, ‘Is she okay?'” he recalled. “And Sasha was like, ‘Yeah, girl, she’s laughing. She’s loving it.’ I was like, ‘Okay, well, then that’s fine.'”
Chappell went on to call Bowen’s impression “lighthearted” and “harmless” before speaking to the idea that fans should fight her battles or express her emotions for her.
“People don’t have to get mad on my behalf,” the 27-year-old explained. “We’re fine. So what is there to be mad about? Also, this is what happens, that is SNL. It’s comedy.”
“And for people to…even if you were to push it further, harmless,” she continued. “It’s comedy. I don’t understand. I just don’t know the line anymore.”
Chappell also explained how she’s found power in not always publicly expressing her opinion or sharing her thoughts. For her, sometimes silence is the best way to approach the latest story about herself, which is why she hadn’t previously spoken to the controversy.
“Even if you didn’t think the Moo Deng sketch was funny or anything, you didn’t have to say anything,” she said. “You can always not say something. And you know what? People sticking up for me in that situation, or not sticking up for me, made me feel no different.”
“I didn’t feel protected and I didn’t feel unprotected,” Chappell added. “Because I didn’t need it either way. Because I was not offended.”
Bowen also didn’t understand the blowback or the conception that he had “mocked” the singer during his sketch.
“Oh geez. ‘Mocks’ ??? If my personal stance and the piece aren’t absolutely clear in terms of supporting her then there it is I guess,” he wrote on Instagram Sept. 29 over a screenshot of an article. “I guess everything she has ever asked for has been reasonable and even then we can connect it to another story about boundaries or whatever. Needing the hose rn…”
Keep reading for more memorable SNL moments…
Kim Kardashian
The Kardashians star poked fun at her relationship with ex Kanye West, her connection to O.J. Simpson and her sister Kourtney Kardashian‘s PDA-heavy romance with now-husband Travis Barker. But she really took flight in an Aladdin-themed sketch that saw her kiss cast member Pete Davidson. The pair would go on to date for nine months.
Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show’s first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America’s Dad is in Studio 8H, you’re in for a wonderful time. Don’t believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He’s has sinced followed up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable “Jon Hamm’s John Ham” sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he’s ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The “Taste Test” sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she’s already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could’ve become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From “Omletteville,” “D–k in a Box,” and “Barry Gibb Talk Show” to “Mother Lover,” each of Timberlake’s five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there’s only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the “wild and crazy” Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show’s most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner‘s passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She’s been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump‘s shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen‘s Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list (save for Kim Kardashian), the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show’s oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White’s role in The Proposal.
She’s also on this list because, well, she was freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey‘s census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer’s Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
