One week after Morgan Wallen made a quick departure from the Saturday Night Live stage, the show took some playful shots at his abrupt exit.
During this weekend’s episode, the SNL cast referenced the country music star’s notable disappearance twice. The first joke came in the cold open when James Austin Johnson, portraying President Donald Trump, hilariously alluded to the Instagram post Wallen made after leaving the show.
“I even put tariffs on an island uninhabited by humans. It’s called Heard and McDonald Island,” Johnson’s Trump said. “McDonald Island. I would love to visit there. Can you imagine that? Big Mac and a hula skirt. Get me to God’s country, right? Remember that?”
Later in the show, Colin Jost directly addressed Wallen’s viral moment during the “Weekend Update” segment when he cracked a joke about America’s current financial situation.
“This was the worst week for the stock market since the summer of 2020. But you have to remember—back then, the president was also Trump,” Jost quipped. “Just in the past two days, investors have lost over $6 trillion. Money is leaving the stock market faster than Morgan Wallen at goodnights.”
Days after Wallen’s now-infamous Irish exit, a source told TMZ that he didn’t intend to offend anyone by ducking out so quickly and had “entered and exited the studio the same way … during rehearsal and camera blocking all week leading up to the live show.”
Sources also revealed Wallen was scheduled to appear in a pre-recorded SNL sketch. Things got complicated when Wallen wasn’t keen on doing the bit, leading the show to swap him out for Joe Jonas.
“They had hoped he would do the pre-tape and perhaps more, but no joy,” a source reportedly told Page Six.
Wallen supposedly “did what he was asked,” which was to perform as the musical guest—but that’s where he drew the line.
According to TMZ, NBC insiders said they harbor no ill feelings toward Wallen and would be happy to welcome him back to SNL as a musical guest in the future.
