‘He’s Dead To Us!’ SNL’s Fox & Friends Trolls Trump In Savage Cold Open — And Torpedoes Kari Lake

Saturday Night Live kicked off the sixth episode of the new season by brutally trolling former President Donald Trump and Kari Lake with a parody Fox & Friends crew.

Comic legend Dave Chappelle was the guest host on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live. Chappelle’s third outing as host was the subject of controversy, with reps for the star denying rumors of a boycott.

Black Star was the musical guest.

Chappelle has been under fire for years over his constant mockery of transgender people. But the criticism — and the edge to the mockery — reached a crescendo with the release of Chapelle’s Netflix special The Closer, which sparked outrage and protests by Netflix staffers, and a series of defiant reactions from Chappelle.

CNN correspondent Jason Carroll reported on the rumored writer’s boycott, noting Chappelle’s reps said in a statement “We’ve seen nothing to support media reports of a writer’s boycott. In fact, the writers delivered over 40 sketches for Dave’s consideration and collaboration.”

But Carroll also noted “CNN reached out to NBC about Chappelle. A spokesperson said the network is not commenting.”

Chappelle teased the appearance with a pair of online promos. In one, Kenan Thompson narrates a hype video for Chappelle in the style of Morgan Freeman:

The other features three rapid-fire promos with Black Star and castmember Ego Nwodim, including one that seemed to reference the controversy:

But before Chappelle could begin his hosting stint, the cast of the long-running sketch show performed its 937th cold open, a long-running gag in which the show performs a parody — usually related to current events — that ends with performers breaking character and exclaiming “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

The very first cold open — on October 11, 1975 — lasted only 96 seconds and featured Chevy Chase uttering the catchphrase as a confused production assistant on a new show that was then called simply NBC’s Saturday Night. Early cold opens — colds open? — featured Chase performing a pratfall, often in character as then-President Gerald Ford.

It has evolved into an often elaborate and anticipated part of the show that can run closer to ten minutes, and almost always parody current events. Although often uneven in quality and a magnet for jabs from critics, the cold open is also often the most talked-about part of the show.

This week’s cold open featured a parody of Fox & Friends that had the morning show dumping Trump for their new “Daddy” Ron DeSantis.

Watch above via NBC’s Saturday Night Live.