Ayo Edebiri, the Emmy-winning star of The Bear, made her SNL hosting debut on Saturday, and she didn’t shy away from asking tough questions to one of the guests: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Playing as a CNN reporter in the Cold Open, she asked Haley what she thought was the main cause of the Civil War, and whether it had anything to do with slavery.
The question was about a town hall in New Hampshire in December 2023, where Haley said that the war was “basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”
She did not mention slavery in her answer, which sparked criticism and backlash on social media.
Nikki Haley admitted that she “probably should have said that the first time” in response to Edebiri’s question during the SNL sketch.
The episode also featured Ayo Edebiri in several other sketches, including a game show called “Why’d You Post That?”, and a parody of The Bachelor. She also delivered a heartfelt and hilarious monologue, where she talked about her childhood, her career, and her love for SNL.
Jennifer Lopez was also featured as the musical guest and she performed two songs from her new album, “This Is Me… Now.” Lopez did not appear in any sketches.
