News and Commentary

‘If Oprah Or Tyler Perry Was Coming, We’d Be All Excited About It’: SNL Star Continues Defending Elon Musk Appearance Against Co-Stars’ Complaints 

   DailyWire.com
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: WEEKEND UPDATE -- Episode 101 -- Pictured: (l-r) Colin Jost, Michael Che from Studio 8H on August 10, 2017 -- (Photo by: Rosalind O'Connor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Rosalind O’Connor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

As they make interview rounds for other projects, Saturday Night Live cast members Michael Che and Pete Davidson are continuing to defend Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s upcoming appearance against complaints from their SNL co-stars.

As The Daily Wire reported, while guest hosting for Ellen DeGeneres, Che seemed to make light of Aidy Bryant, Bowen Yang, and Andrew Dismukes complaints, jokingly saying “I was all on board for it ’til I found out, like, did you know he’s rich. Now I’m, like, against it.”

But the Weekend Update anchor brought out even sharper barbs Tuesday during an appearance on syndicated morning radio show, “The Breakfast Club.” He told fellow black entertainer Charlamagne tha God of his co-stars’ anti-Musk social media posts, “I don’t know, I think white people just don’t like their billionaires, for some reason. It’s weird cuz we love our billionaires. If Oprah or Tyler Perry was coming, we’d be all excited about it.”

Che was referring to Yang replying, “What the f*** does this even mean?” after Musk announced his upcoming SNL appearance on Twitter by teasing, “Let’s find out how live Saturday Night Live really is.”  Newbie cast member Dismukes made a cringey pun on Musk’s title, and Bryant pointedly retweeted a comment from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that Musk’s wealth is a “moral obscenity.”

All three later deleted those posts, suggesting they may have received a call from a corner office.

But Che isn’t the only SNL star defending NBC’s decision to book Musk to host the long-running sketch show.

Pete Davidson told late night talk host and SNL alum Seth Meyers Tuesday night he’s excited to see Musk. “I’m gonna ask him for, like, a Tesla or some s***,” Davidson said, before seeming to take aim at his disgruntled costars: “’The guy’s a genius. I don’t know why people are freaking out. They’re like, ‘I can’t believe that Elon Musk is hosting.’ And I’m like, ‘’The guy that makes the Earth better kind of, makes cool things and sends people to Mars?’’”

If Bryant, Yang, and Dismukes had given the matter deeper thought, they might have taken Musk’s hosting gig as a chance to make big money themselves. Cryptocurrency traders evidently expect the notoriously loose-lipped tech titan to use his opening monologue to once again plug Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency he’s played a role in promoting over the last year. The stock began trading at near all-time highs Friday ahead of his appearance.

Davidson, Che, and fellow cast members Colin Jost, Kenan Thompson, Chris Redd, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman were spotted having dinner with Musk Tuesday night at swanky Manhattan eatery, Il Gattopardo.

Yang, Dismukes, and Bryant apparently didn’t want to attend or weren’t invited.

Megan Basham (@megbasham) is the entertainment reporter for The Daily Wire. She’s a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic who was previously an entertainment editor and podcast co-host for World Magazine. 

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  ‘If Oprah Or Tyler Perry Was Coming, We’d Be All Excited About It’: SNL Star Continues Defending Elon Musk Appearance Against Co-Stars’ Complaints