Saturday Night Live kicked off its Mother’s Day episode with an assist from musical guest Miley Cyrus, who was joined by the entire cast and their adorable moms.
One by one, the Not Ready for Primetime Players made their way to the stage alongside their mothers, who they were unable to see last Mother’s Day due to lockdown. Cyrus, meanwhile, belted out a soulful rendition of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” a song recorded in 1992 by her godmother, Dolly Parton.
Kate McKinnon and her mom kicked things off with their best impression of Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher. Then came Aidy Bryant’s mom, who used her limited screen time to promote the third and final season of her daughter’s Hulu comedy Shrill.
Kyle Mooney’s mom demanded two Mother’s Day gifts to make up for last year, while Mikey Day’s mom just wanted a hug… from Beck Bennett. Bowen Yang’s mother gave her son a kiss, then immediately washed his face with Purell. And Colin Jost’s mom nearly got her and her son cancelled on live television.
Everyone eventually gathered around Cyrus, who was joined by her own mother Tish.
The Mother’s Day-themed cold open preceded the arrival of this weekend’s host, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. (Watch his opening monologue here.) SNL‘s controversial decision to tap Musk as one of its final Season 46 hosts caused internal strife at the late-night sketch series following the April 24 announcement. The backlash on social media was swift — and Musk seemed to revel in the hullabaloo, cryptically tweeting, “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is,” tacking on a devil emoji for good measure. The tweet prompted a rebuke from cast member Bowen Yang, who commented via Instastory, “What the f–k does that even mean?”
Yang’s SNL co-star Andrew Dismukes, who became a featured player this season after serving as a writer on the show since 2017, also threw shade at the Musk move, cracking, “Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri” — a reference to the former SNL MVP.
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