In the final “Saturday Night Live” cold open of Season 51, Jeffrey Epstein’s ghost visited his “dear, dear friend” President Trump.
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‘Saturday Night Live’ is bidding farewell to season 51 with Will Ferrell playing the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein.
The sketch show’s season finale on May 16 began with a “A Christmas Carol”-style sketch in which President Donald Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, takes a nap in the Oval Office and imagines being visited by the ghostly Epstein, played by host and former cast member Ferrell.
“Don’t worry, Donald, it’s me, your best friend, Jeffrey Epstein!” he said.
After the two men reconciled, Ferrell’s Epstein said he and Trump “had a great time together.” He then offered Trump some future visions, starting with Kristi Noem’s (Ashley Padilla) new job, selling vacuum cleaners at HSN.
“It’s the best way other than a gun to clean up dog messes,” she says.
Next was a vision of Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) hosting a podcast with FBI Director Kash Patel (Aziz Ansari), with Patel drinking beer from a giant beer bottle. Mr. Epstein also told Mr. Trump that in six months, the Iran war would be over and “we would be in second place.”
“Remember, no matter how many wars you make, no matter how much you make the economy worse as a distraction, people will always associate you with me. And that’s great, my dear best friend,” said Epstein, played by Ferrell, leading them to a performance of “Just the Two of Us.”
The sketch was unusual for the show and marked a return to Mr. Johnson’s impressions of Trump, which had not been featured in the previous two “SNL” episodes. The May 9 cold open focused on Matt Damon, who plays Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, bonding with Hegseth, played by Jost, and Kash Patel, played by Ansari, at a bar. Mr. Ansari first performed an impression of the FBI director on “SNL” last week in a surprise appearance.
Ferrell hosted the season finale of SNL with musical guest Paul McCartney. The “Anchorman” star began his monologue with a bit where Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers came out and impersonated him, only for Ferrell to take over and act like he was completely shaken off.
McCartney eventually joined Ferrell on stage, but he broadened his range by acting as if he still thought Ferrell was the Smiths. “I have a question for you, Chad, what do you think you’re doing?” the Beatles legend asked from the audience.
When will ‘SNL’ return for Season 52?
The May 16 finale brought the 51st season of “SNL” to a close. After a milestone anniversary season and a summer cast shakeup, this year’s show brings together reliable returning hosts like Ariana Grande and Melissa McCarthy, as well as first-time performers like Sabrina Carpenter and Finn Wolfhard.
Highlights of the season included Amy Poehler and Tina Fey reuniting to play Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, respectively. Jack Black joins the Five Times Club. And Bowen Yang said goodbye on the final show with a tearful meta sketch about quitting his job.
However, Season 51 may be remembered as Ashley Padilla’s season. In his second year on “SNL,” Padilla produced one memorable sketch after another, from one about a woman with a bad haircut to one about an annoying coworker who awkwardly barges in during lunch. The comedian, who also played Caroline Leavitt on the show, is widely considered one of the breakout stars among the show’s recent additions, with former SNL writer Robert Smigel hailing her as a “miracle” on “X” in April.
“SNL” will return for Season 52 in the fall.
