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Saturday Night Live got the last laugh!
One week after Morgan Wallen abruptly left the show near its ending after serving as the musical guest on the March 29 episode, the late-night comedy sketch series poked fun at the moment twice during its April 5 airing.
The first Wallen-related joke came during the Cold Open, when James Austin Johnson, playing President Donald Trump, referenced Wallen’s “God’s country” comment he made in an Instagram Stories post after the show. “I even put tariffs on an island uninhabited by humans. It’s called Heard and McDonald Island,” Johnson, 35, said as the politician. “McDonald Island. I would love to visit there. Can you imagine that? Big Mac and a hula skirt. Get me to God’s country, right? Remember that?”
Later, Colin Jost poked fun at the country singer during Weekend Update, while making jokes about the current financial state of the country. “This was the worst week for the stock market since the summer of 2020. But you have to remember — back then, the president was also Trump,” he said, adding: “Just in the past two days, investors have lost over $6 trillion. Money is leaving the stock market faster than Morgan Wallen at goodnights.”
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During last week’s episode of SNL, which saw Mikey Madison serve as host, Wallen performed two songs off his upcoming album, I’m the Problem.
At the end of the show, Madison, 26, expressed her thanks to all who made the show possible while standing next to the country crooner.
As the camera panned out, Wallen could be seen leaning in to whisper something into the actress’ ear, before stepping off stage and walking right past the camera before him.
Shortly after, Wallen shared a photo on his Instagram Stories of a private jet with “Get me to God’s country” written in white text over it. (He has since started selling merch making light of the situation and the statement.)
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A source close to Wallen later explained to Variety that the star enjoyed his time on SNL and never meant to offend with either his exit or social media post. (The insider specifically highlighted that was the same way he entered and exited the New York City studio all week during rehearsal and camera blocking.)
The source also told the outlet that Wallen also didn’t put much thought into how his actions would look to others, reiterating there is no drama.
Longtime SNL castmember Kenan Thompson reacted to the moment not long after in an interview, telling Entertainment Weekly, “I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that. I don’t know if he understood the assignment or not, or if he was really feeling a certain kind of way.”
PEOPLE also confirmed that Wallen was offered a cameo in a pre-taped sketch called “Big Dumb Line” but turned it down and was replaced by Joe Jonas.
The latest episode of SNL was hosted by Jack Black and saw Elton John and Brandi Carlile perform as the musical guests.
Saturday Night Live will return on April 12 with Jon Hamm as host and Lizzo as the musical guest.
