President
Joe Biden
faced stiff competition for media attention as Tian Tian, the giant panda, joined his press conference during Saturday Night Live’s cold open for the episode hosted by Jason Momoa.
SNL started its latest episode with a sketch making fun of Biden’s recent meeting with Chinese
President Xi Jinping
. The sketch included discussion of China’s plan to send more pandas to the U.S., as three are currently making their way back to the Asian nation after residing in Washington’s National Zoo. Castmember
Bowen Yang
played one of those pandas, Tian Tian, and managed to upstage Mikey Day’s Biden.
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“This meeting was a total win,” Day said as Biden. “Sure, we made agreements about communications, fentanyl, climate change — but most importantly, we got the thing America really needs right now: more pandas.”
Yang humorously shared Tian Tian’s daily routine: “I just want to eat bamboo, sneeze in a cute way and not have sex.” When asked about his refusal to mate in the zoo and why he appears to dislike sex, Yang replied, “Have you had it? It’s crazy. Next question.”
The episode also featured Momoa delivering a monologue that centered on the star’s concern for the condition of the planet’s oceans. Another memorable sketch showed the adoration that Momoa and other men have for the Roman Empire, which references a recent TikTok trend.
Topics addressed on “Weekend Update” included NBA star Draymond Green’s recent suspension for fighting Rudy Gobert during a game.
Singer Tate McRae was the episode’s musical guest.
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