Two weeks after Megan Thee Stallion pulled double duty on “Saturday Night Live,” another rapper, Jack Harlow, served as host and musical guest of the show.
During the sketch comedy series’ Halloween episode, Harlow performed “Lil Secret,” “State Fair” and “First Class” from his latest album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You.” He also acted in several sketches throughout the show — which featured surprise cameos from Tom Hanks and Bobby Moynihan.
“I don’t know what it is about me, but people on the internet, they liked to roast me,” Harlow said during his opening monologue.
“One guy said, ‘I don’t know why y’all think Jack Harlow is so special. You can find somebody who looks like him at any local gas station.’ I’ve heard them say I look like if you tried to draw Justin Timberlake from memory. … My favorite one might be, ‘Jack Harlow looks like the guy who rips the tickets in half at the movie theaters.’”
This week’s “SNL” broadcast tackled everything from the 2022 midterm elections to Kanye “Ye” West’s antisemitic meltdown. Here’s a sampling of key moments from the show. (Warning: Some of the videos below contain explicit language.)
Cold open mocks Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections
This week’s cold open starred Heidi Gardner as “PBS NewsHour” host Judy Woodruff interviewing Republican politicians Herschel Walker (Kenan Thompson), Dr. Mehmet Oz (Mikey Day) and Kari Lake (Cecily Strong).
“All three of you have been gaining in the polls the past few weeks, despite none of you having any political experience,” Gardner’s Woodruff said as her conservative guests nodded in agreement.
Hanks returns as David S. Pumpkins
During one nostalgic sketch, a chill-seeking group of prison tour riders (and the “SNL” audience) were trick-or-treated to an unexpected visit from David S. Pumpkins, a classic dancing Halloween character played by Hanks.
“I’m David Pumpkins,” Hanks — dressed in a jack-o’-lantern suit — announced to cheers from the crowd. “And I’m gonna scare you stupid.”
Skechers brags about rejecting West
A digital parody of a Skechers ad made light of the shoe company’s move to escort West out of its headquarters in Manhattan Beach after the scorned rapper showed up uninvited.
“We were appalled by Kanye’s horrific comments, and we vow to never work with him in any capacity,” said a Skechers spokesperson played by Strong. “But can we also point out that, of all the companies he could have approached and been rejected by, he chose Skechers?”
Moynihan brings Drunk Uncle back to ‘Weekend Update’
West came up again when former “SNL” cast member Moynihan reprised his fan-favorite Drunk Uncle character on “Weekend Update.”
“Donda! Donda! Donda!” Moynihan shouted.
“I’ve been listening to a whole lot of what [West] has to say, and guess what? I think he might be crazy. That kind of talk doesn’t fly anymore. I learned … a lot during the pan-Demi Moore, OK? I did the work. I know that Black Adams matter. I saw ‘Bros’ in theaters, pal,” Moynihan said. “And — no homo — it was great. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Gay guys are still funnier than women.”
AA meeting turns into a Pixar pitch meeting
Another sketch starred Harlow and others as a community of Alcoholics Anonymous members who seemed less interested in confronting their alcohol use and more interested in perfecting “the perfect pitch for a Pixar movie.”
“There is something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Harlow said. “A concept for a touching computer-animated film. It’s about lost luggage trying to find its way home.”
