“Witness the wonder, the escape, the story,” McKinnon says. “The sandy beaches, the massive bamboo,” Adele adds, as the two banter back and forth on what’s most to love about a trip to Africa. “The lush, dangling foliage! The history!” The sketch, however, was met with some controversy on social media, with viewers pointing out the potentially offensive portrayal of Africa. Others have said that the sketch actually targets foreign ignorance about the continent.
Surprisingly, Adele only served as the emcee this week and didn’t actually perform any songs off her forthcoming album, which she said, during the opening monologue, is not finished. The musical guest of the night was H.E.R., also known as Gabriella Wilson. During her opening monologue, Adele took the time to encourage audiences to vote even though she’s British and proclaims to know “nothing” about American politics, and also thanked the frontline workers who’ve served the world during the coronavirus pandemic. Also notable out of “Saturday Night Live” this week was the final presidential debate between Donald Trump, played by Alec Baldwin, and Joe Biden, played by Jim Carrey. Maya Rudolph co-starred as Kristen Welker, with McKinnon also joining briefly as Rudy Giuliani. Next week, John Mulaney hosts “Saturday Night Live” for the fourth time, and on Halloween as well, and will be joined by musical guest The Strokes. “Three things define New York City: SNL, the Strokes, and Ed Koch. Koch is dead, so they got me. I am so goddamn excited. 4th time up. Wow and wow and wow,” Mulaney wrote on Twitter. Watch the “Saturday Night Live” “Africa” sketch below.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.