‘SNL’ mocks responses to Luigi Mangione’s arrest with Adam Sandler making a comeback
“Saturday Night Live” is making waves with its take on Luigi Mangione.
The most recent episode featured Chris Rock as the host, who began his monologue by discussing the arrest of the individual accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“Everyone’s obsessed with how good-looking this guy is,” Rock quipped. “If he looked like Jonah Hill, nobody would care. They’d have put him on death row already. He’d be a goner.”
While Rock expressed his condolences to Thompson’s family, he led into a punchline that had mixed reactions.
“(Mangione) really took a life,” he stated. “A man with a family, a man with children. My heart goes out to the healthcare executive’s loved ones. This was a real tragedy. But, let’s not forget, sometimes drug dealers get killed. You remember ‘The Wire’, right?”
Last week’s jokes about Thompson’s demise were criticized by some viewers on social media, who labeled them inappropriate.
Thompson, who was 50 years old, had a wife and two kids. In an op-ed for The New York Times, Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, reflected on him as a “brilliant, kind individual dedicated to improving health care for all,” noting the profound grief that his family, friends, and colleagues are feeling.
The episode opened with a skit featuring Nancy Grace, portrayed by Sarah Sherman, who reported on Mangione’s arrest. She hilariously reacted to inappropriate online remarks about the suspect, claiming he “resembles Dave Franco but has eyebrows like Eugene Levy.”
“Naturally, everyone online praised law enforcement for catching this dangerous criminal,” said Sherman’s version of Grace. “Just kidding, all you nutjobs turned him into a sex symbol!”
She proceeded to interview a man, played by Kenan Thompson, who was at a McDonald’s where Mangione was seen before his apprehension.
“Women are drawn to bad boys,” he remarked. “Back in the day, you could charm your lady with a sweet poem. Now you need to write a manifesto.”
The show couldn’t resist teasing that featured performer Emil Wakim has a striking resemblance to Mangione. In a skit, the comedian acted as a man who Grace casually mentioned “happens to look like” the alleged shooter.
“I haven’t paid for a meal in Brooklyn for days,” he bragged.
The humor surrounding Mangione carried into “Weekend Update,” where Colin Jost commented on the irony that the suspected shooter harbored resentment for corporate America yet chose to visit Starbucks and McDonald’s.
“So maybe his biggest offense was being a hypocrite,” Jost joked.
Adam Sandler comes back to ‘SNL,’ spurts blood on Chris Rock
The season has seen many former “SNL” cast members returning, including a surprise appearance by Adam Sandler on Saturday’s show.
Rock played a surgeon in a sketch where a procedure goes terribly wrong due to the nurse’s (Sherman) blunders. About two minutes into the act, Sandler’s character was unveiled, bleeding profusely yet urging everyone to be lenient on the nurse.
Sandler was part of the “SNL” cast from 1990 to 1995. During his return as a host in 2019, he performed a song about being fired from the program.
Sandler joined a lineup of “SNL” alumni returning, following Dana Carvey and David Spade, who famously portrayed the Church Lady and Hunter Biden, respectively, last week.
“SNL” is set to air next week for its final show before Christmas, featuring host Martin Short and musical guest Hozier.