Bowen Yang Subtly Shades Nikki Haley’s Cameo On ‘SNL’, Hints Not “Everyone” Was Happy About It

By Samantha Nungesser @samjnungesser
Published Feb. 5, 2024, 4:05 p.m. ET

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Not “everyone” was happy about Nikki Haley‘s cameo on Saturday Night Live last weekend. Earlier today, cast member Bowen Yang seemingly shaded the Republican presidential hopeful after she appeared in the long-running sketch comedy show’s cold open.

On Instagram, Yang posted a photo of a card addressed to Haley reading, “Welcome to Studio 8H! From, Lorne + everyone at SNL.” In what appeared to be a sarcastic response to showrunner Lorne Michaels‘ excitement, he captioned the photo, “everyone! :),” before disabling the comments section.

Haley appeared in the opening sketch of the Feb. 3 episode as a concerned South Carolina voter at a CNN Town Hall for Donald Trump, who was played by cast member James Austin Johnson. The politician took jabs at her opponent, who recently mistook her for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joking that he “might need a mental competency test.”

The tables turned when host Ayo Edebiri asked Haley, “What would you say is the main cause of the Civil War? And do you think it starts with an ’S’ and ends in a ‘lavery,'” referencing her failure to cite slavery as the root cause of the Civil War.

“Yep, I probably should’ve said that the first time,” Haley quipped before announcing, “And live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”

Haley isn’t the first guest to rub Yang the wrong way. Just last week, he appeared visibly uncomfortable when Dave Chappelle jumped onstage during the show’s goodbyes. The comedian, who did not appear in any sketches nor was he hosting, has come under fire in recent years for his controversial jokes targeting the LGBTQ+ community, with particular vitriol aimed at transgender individuals.

When Chappelle hosted the show in 2022, Yang, Sarah Sherman and nonbinary castmate Molly Kearney did not take the stage at the end of the episode for his farewell.

Meanwhile, SNL is gearing up to welcome comedian Shane Gillis back to Studio 8H five years after firing him for using racist and homophobic slurs on his podcast … and you know we’ll be eagerly awaiting Yang’s response to that one.