‘SNL’s Michael Che Weighs In On Elon Musk Hosting Controversy

SNL‘s Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che seems to be taking the upcoming and controversial Saturday Night Live guest hosting appearance of world’s richest man Elon Musk in stride, suggesting to both Seth Meyers and Ellen DeGeneres that he’s not among the cast members complaining.

Musk, whose mixed-message public comments about the Covid vaccine have drawn criticism – as have his anti-union stances – will guest host SNL this Saturday, a booking that wasn’t exactly embraced by some cast members. When Musk posted an Instagram message about his upcoming appearance by asking “Let’s find out how live Saturday Night Live really is,” cast member Bowen Yang responded, “What the f*ck does this even mean?”

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SNL‘s Aidy Bryant then retweeted a message from Sen. Bernie Sanders calling out the “moral obscenity” of the fact that “the 50 wealthiest people in America today own more wealth than the bottom half of our people.”

SNL‘s Andrew Dismukes wrote on Instagram, “Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri.”

But when an article in the New York Post alleged that SNL cast members won’t be “forced” to appear alongside the Tesla billionaire, Che mocked the assertion on Instagram by referencing his Update co anchor: “Does this rule mean I won’t be forced to appear next to Colin anymore?!”

On Monday’s Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC, Che was asked about Musk’s appearance by former SNLer Meyers. “Yeah, you know, that’s gonna be exciting, too,” Che said, as if pressed. “He’s the richest man in the world, how could you not be excited for that?”

Later today, Che will guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in a clip released prior to the episode, Che jokes, “I was all on board with it till I found out – did you know he’s rich? Now I’m like against it.”

Joking aside, Che tells DeGeneres the show will be “interesting,” and that “it’s cool that people care about who’s on the show. It’s been on for 46 years and people still care about who’s being booked. I think that’s kind of dope.”

Watch the segments below. The Musk comments on Late Night arrive around the 3:33 mark, and on the Ellen show around the 7:47 mark.

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