‘Saturday Night Live’ Brings a “Breaking News” Cold Open Featuring Interview with the Fallen Chinese Balloon
Live on Saturday night The suspect quickly spun a sketch about the takedown of a Chinese balloon by the U.S. military early Saturday, defying the national obsession over the spy craft.
Just hours after covering a missile attack that sent the balloon into ocean waters off the coast of South Carolina, SNL The latest development opened with its own news report, featuring an MSNBC interview with the floating remnants of the balloon played by Bowen Young.
“Well, I’m sorry you’re in the water, but thank you for talking to us,” Katie Turr (Chloe Fineman) told the balloon.
But the angry balloon responded, “I entertain you for four days but then shoot and kill Biden! I can’t believe I’m Joe’s Osama.”
“What were you doing over Montana?” Tur asked.
Balloon replied, “I like the show Yellowstone. to see it legacyBut outside.”
Tur then noted, “I’m actually surprised you’re still floating. Experts say you are the size of three buses.
The balloon replied, “Okay. Ouch. I’m a balloon, so, this is my body. How would you like it if someone measured your width on the bus? Sorry, I don’t.” Camera is ready”
The clever piece worked, as it focused on a single news topic that has dominated headlines and social media in recent days. It also raised international tensions, as Secretary of State Tony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing.
The SNL The farce begins with Tur declaring, “Our long national nightmare is over. We got the balloon.”
“The discovery of the giant surveillance balloon earlier this week has inflamed already volatile US-China relations, and many on the right have called the Biden administration’s response soft, including this tweet from Donald Trump Jr. ‘My father wouldn’t have had the balloon if he was president,'” he told the audience.
Tur then interviews Pentagon official General William Hamilton (Kenan Thompson), who sternly declares, “We popped the balloon.”
Tur then asked, “General, we’ve never seen such an object enter our airspace before. How did it happen?”
Hamilton replied, “That’s a great question, Katy. The balloon somehow managed to get past our West Coast anti-balloon defense system – the Seattle Space Needle.”
He then showed a 3D rendering of the balloon, actually a birthday party favor.
“I want everyone to know that we will not tolerate any form of Chinese espionage,” the general said. “But honestly, they have everything you need from TikTok, so scroll kids!”
