Saturday Night Live

‘SNL' Returns: Jason Bateman Hosts, Morgan Wallen Performs

After being replaced as the musical guest in October for breaking COVID protocol, country singer Morgan Wallen returned for a second chance on the show

Cecily Strong appears as Melissa Carone alongside Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani on "Saturday Night Live," December 5th, 2020.

After a hiatus, “Saturday Night Live” returned on Saturday with their version of Rudy Giuliani’s remarkable hearing over alleged voter fraud in Michigan last week.

At that meeting, viewers were introduced to Melissa Carone, a contractor for Dominion Voting Systems. Carone made headlines with her confident but unverified and unsubstantiated claims, and ever since then, many expected her to be depicted on this week’s “SNL.” 

Enter Cecily Strong. The longtime “SNL” castmember was slated by fans to be the perfect fit for the role, as Carone’s antics were reminiscent of some of Strong’s characters, including "Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party."

Sure enough, Strong appeared alongside Kate McKinnon’s Giuliani, and proceeded to give a typically funny and raucous rendition of Carone’s hearing.

Actor Jason Bateman returned for his second time as host of “Saturday Night Live,” joking that he must have made a great first impression considering the last time he hosted was 15 years ago. 

Bateman recounted a behind-the-scenes story from his first time hosting, where the show got a chimpanzee for a sketch, and the chimp tried to attack Bateman at the end of the show. 

While the story sounded far-fetched, Bateman backed up his claims with footage of the chimp baring his teeth and attempting to bite the “Ozark” actor. 

Bateman also explained that the monkey “apologized” later on, though the host joked he had the animal “destroyed” later that night.

Pete Davidson flaunted his rapping skills with “Stu,” a parody of Eminem’s 2000 song “Stan,” about a crazed fan fixated on communicating with Eminem. Except Davidson’s version was aimed at Santa Claus.

The comedian reenacted Eminem’s iconic music video, erratically writing letters to Santa Claus, begging him for a PlayStation 5.  

Davidson’s bleach blonde hair and tattoos may have passed him for Eminem if not for a well-timed cameo from “the real Slim Shady.”

Michael Che and Colin Jost returned to host “Weekend Update.” Davidson joined them to talk about the recent anti-lockdown protests on Davidson’s native Staten Island.

When Jost asked Davidson if he is against the protests, Davidson responded with a smile: “I mean, kind of, but I’m also just happy I’m not the first thing people think of when they say ‘what’s the worst thing about Staten Island?’” 

Morgan Wallen, the country singer who was axed from the "SNL" lineup in October after he was filmed maskless at a busy bar, returned to the show to perform – and to make fun of himself.

In the sketch set at the Alabama bar that Wallen was filmed breaking COVID protocol, Wallen met a couple of his future selves who warned Wallen about the consequences of his actions at the bar, but even they had a tough time leaving the party.

Wallen also performed two of his own songs, including “7 Summers.” 

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