Meanwhile, the hit NBC comedy show pays tribute to Ukraine by introducing Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York who performs 'Prayer for Ukraine' in the cold open.
- Feb 28, 2022
AceShowbiz - "Saturday Night Live" returned on February 26 after taking a hiatus for nearly a month. In the new episode, the hit comedy show tackled Russia-Ukraine conflict after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this month.
The cast members paid tribute to Ukraine in its cold open. Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong introduced the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York who later performed "Prayer for Ukraine", a patriotic hymn and something of a spiritual anthem for Ukraine.
Following the emotional performance, a table full of tea candles which spelled out "Kyiv" was seen. It also featured bushels of sunflowers, the Ukrainian national flower.
Later in Weekend Update, hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "This week, Russia began their invasion of Ukraine. President Putin launched the attack with support from allies like Belarus and Tucker Carlson," Jost said, referring to the Fox News host dismissing the conflict as a "border dispute."
He also poked fun at NBC, saying, "Many analysts were surprised Putin went through with the invasion, even though it was obviously going to be a colossal mistake. But they couldn't back down after all that buildup. Kind of like how NBC still had to go through with airing the Winter Olympics."
He went on to say, "Experts on Russian politics were saying economic sanctions from the West won't deter Putin because his money is in non-traditional assets that are difficult to trace. Ugh, so on top of everything else that is awful about Putin, he's also into crypto."
Che added, "After the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian stock market fell by 30 percent, to negative 90 percent."
He admitted that "this is a tough subject to make jokes about." He continued, "I mean, in my lifetime, I've seen footage of attacks like this on other countries, but never a white one… I am very impressed by all these Ukrainian citizens signing up to defend their country, even the famous ones. Imagine that here: If you ever read on the news that Michael Che has joined an American war, we have just lost that war."
The two then noted that Russia managed to capture the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in northern Ukraine. "Said Ukrainians, 'Oh no, don't take that,' " Jost joked. "Capturing Chernobyl is like landing an audition for Harvey Weinstein now."
