Colin Jost called out the late King of Pop for his multiple allegations of child sexual abuse that were largely ignored by the new biopic about him.
“The movie Michael earned $97 million at its opening weekend, which was the most a music biopic has ever grossed,” Jost said in the latest SNL “Weekend Update.”
Jost added, “But it didn’t even crack the top 10 grossest weekends involving Michael Jackson.”
The joke drew a mix of groans and laughter from the audience, with both Jost and co-anchor Michael Che reveling in viewers’ discomfort.
Even before his death, Michael Jackson had been accused repeatedly of sexually abusing children.
In 2019, the four-hour documentary Leaving Neverland focused on the detailed accounts of two former child stars who claimed to have been abused by the musician.
Despite the strong box office performance of Michael, the film has been panned by critics for glossing over the many allegations.
Jost went even darker in a later joke that was based on a real news story.
“Police in Nebraska arrested a long-time sex offender known as the ‘Cookie Monster’ after he was found naked in a boy’s bedroom,” Jost explained. “Luckily, before he could go...”
In an impression of the famous cookie-loving muppet, Jost went, “Nom nom nom nom!”
In political news, Jost ripped into the U.S. State Department’s special edition passport that features a picture of President Donald Trump.
Jost joked that the picture served a clear purpose: “So you’ll always carry a reminder of why you fled the country.”
The “Update” anchor added, “I love that the picture of Trump is apparently burning a hole in the Declaration of Independence.”
Co-anchor Michael Che, meanwhile, got in a shot at Trump’s controversial White House ballroom plan.
“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she thinks it’s possible America has already had a gay president,” Che said. “And here’s a guess, maybe it’s the one obsessed with ballrooms and The Village People.”
Jost referenced Trump’s ballroom earlier in the segment, when responding to the news report that Trump’s war in Iran has already cost America $25 billion.
Jost asked incredulously, “What are we bombing them with, White House ballrooms?”
