Chris Rock on Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis: ‘My heart goes out to COVID’
In kicking off the latest season of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Chris Rock took aim at the structure of American government
Comedian Chris Rock kicked off the Season 46 premiere of “Saturday Night Live” and wasted no time mocking President Donald Trump‘s coronavirus diagnosis.
The former SNL cast member is the first to host the longtime sketch comedy series live in-person since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. During his opening monologue, Rock kicked off by addressing the “elephant in the room.”
“President Trump is in the hospital from COVID, I just want to say my heart goes out to COVID,” the Fargo actor said, USA Today reports.
The president was taken to Walter Reed Hospital on Friday after he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the potentially deadly contagion.
Rock joked about the safety protocols on the SNL set involving nasal COVID-19 tests.
Read More: Chris Rock jokes Tiffany Haddish cut off her hair after taking mushroom tea
“I haven’t had so much stuff up my nose since I shared a dressing room with Chris Farley,” he said. Farley died in 1997 of a reported drug overdose at the age of 33.
He and Rock were SNL cast members together in the early 90s.
“I think we need to renegotiate our relationship to the government,” Rock said during his opening monologue. “Does it work? I think Joe Biden should be the last president ever. We need a whole new system, OK? … What job do you have for four years, no matter what?”
The comedian, in calling for term limits, noted that Americans “agreed” to “not have kings, yet we have dukes and duchesses running the Senate and the Congress, making decisions for poor people,” he said.
“Rich people making decisions for poor people — that’s like your handsome friend giving you dating advice,” Rock added.
“Everything going on right now, we can lick this — we can beat this — if we face it together,” he continued before ending his monologue with a quote from writer James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it’s faced.”
Read More: Megan Thee Stallion makes a statement during her solo SNL debut
theGRIO previously reported, Megan Thee Stallion made her SNL solo debut as the musical guest, performing her songs “Savage” and “Don’t Stop.”
The “Wap” rapper made a powerful statement about protecting Black women and men, and took aim at Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron over his handling of the Breonna Taylor case.
The message “Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout negroes that sold our people into slavery” flashed on the screen behind the hip-hop star.
“We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women … because at the end of the day we need our Black women,” Megan said during the performance.
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