Michael Che brutally shut down a fan who suggested a sketch about Epstein Island with “actual children” for Saturday Night Live.
The SNL comedian and “Weekend Update” co-anchor mocked the pitch in a series of since-deleted Instagram stories, even sharing a screenshot of his DMs with the fan.
The fan wrote to Che, “If SNL had any balls they’d do an Epstein island sketch like it was a joke but just have it be reality and have Trump and Elon etc etc partying with actual children.” The fan also said, “Have Elon try and explain electric cars to a 5th grader over cocktails, etc.”
Che fired back, writing, “thatd be funny to you..? pedo reenactments with actual kids..you think the audience would be laughing at that..?”
“I guess i just don’t understand comedy audiences anymore,” Che joked in a subsequent story.
“I get so much snl criticism that starts with ‘if yall had any balls.’ Nah, we do,” he pushed back.
“We just air on Channel 4, you muppet,” he continued. “I wonder if ice t gets messages like ‘show penetration on svu, cowards!’”
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC, which, in New York at least, is on channel 4.
Che’s comments come on the heels of an SNL sketch that was “cut for time” from the show’s Feb. 4 episode in which Colin Jost played a doctor who had trouble explaining the Epstein-Barr virus because of its association with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Comments across SNL’s social media accounts show a widespread sentiment that the show isn’t acknowledging the Epstein news enough.
“How was this cut for time? It’s brilliant,” wrote one user on X. “now why the hell would they cut this,” said another. On Instagram, several SNL fans theorized that Che wrote the sketch.
Saturday Night Live has highlighted the Epstein files in other sketches. In December, SNL’s Trump, played by cast member James Austin Johnson, displayed heavily redacted documents from the files in a sketch, saying, “...I come out looking, frankly, very good.”
That same month, both Jost and Che poked fun at Epstein Island, eliciting shocked groans from their audience.
In January, the NBC sketch comedy show was criticized for cutting a sketch about ICE activities in Minnesota, with many fans slamming the decision as “cowardly.” Just days later, Che didn’t hold back on the subject of ICE, calling the agents “allegedly” human.
Che also came for Ghislaine Maxwell in the episode, announcing the House Oversight Committee’s decision to depose the long-time Epstein associate.
“The House Oversight Committee announced that next month it will depose Ghislaine Maxwell as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation,” Che said. “In the meantime, they’ve turned off the cameras to give her privacy to play with her new chair and long rope.”
