Saturday Night Live
Teyana Taylor & Geese
January 24, 2026
Saturday Night Live had a tough task ahead of them this weekend. That Saturday morning in Minneapolis, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Veterans Administration, was murdered by ICE agents after he stepped in to help some women. By the time we rolled around to 11:30 p.m., EST, we didn’t have all the information about his killing (we still don’t), but we had all seen the videos and the government was already talking out of its ass, and SNL had a show to put on. The result was a show that didn’t address the situation in any meaningful way aside from a throwaway joke on “Weekend Update,” and a sketch that skirted the issue. Viewers, especially those in Minneapolis, felt the lack of acknowledgement was disrespectful, and folks began angrily tearing the entire episode apart online. The result was an episode that, despite actually having a few very funny sketches, will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
As for the host, Oscar-nominee Teyana Taylor was fine, though she was best used in a sketch that spoofed her film One Battle After Another, which didn’t exactly suggest she has a lot of comedic range. The show tried to play to her singing and dancing strengths, but I genuinely feel she would have been better served had she not been the only woman of color in the episode. She wasn’t a bad host — but she isn’t going to be remembered as being a great host, either.
And then there’s the musical guest controversy which … look … my husband and son are huge fans of Geese, so this was not my first experience with them. That said, I am decidedly not a fan, so I’m just going to stay out of that mess altogether. But good luck if you dare to tread into the discourse.
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