‘SNL’ Pokes Fun at Morgan Wallen’s Sudden Stage Exit in Two Skits
It has been a week since Morgan Wallen broke convention by departing the “Saturday Night Live” stage unexpectedly during the closing moments of the show, prompting some reactions from the late-night sketch comedy program.
Jack Black returned to Studio 8H as the host of “SNL” for the fourth time on Saturday, April 5, joined by musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
The previous week, Mikey Madison made her hosting debut shortly after winning an Oscar, while Wallen appeared once again as a musical guest for the second time. In a surprising turn of events at the show’s conclusion, Wallen exited the “SNL” stage prematurely, instead of interacting with Madison and the rest of the cast.
His departure became the highlight of a joke made during the “Weekend Update” segment, where co-anchor Colin Jost addressed the economy alongside recent declines in the stock market.
“In just the last two days, investors have lost over $6 trillion,” Jost remarked. “Money is exiting the stock market quicker than Morgan Wallen at goodnights.”
Wallen was also mentioned earlier in the show during the cold open, which included a sketch regarding President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs. These featured 10% tariffs on Heard Island and McDonald Islands, located in the Antarctic region and primarily inhabited by penguins.
“You know, no country is exempt from my tariffs. I even placed tariffs on an island devoid of human inhabitants,” cast member James Austin Johnson quipped in his impression of Trump. “It’s named Heard and McDonald Island. Oh, McDonald Island. I’d love to visit there, right?”
Johnson presented some whimsical artwork depicting “McDonald Island,” featuring a Big Mac in a grass skirt on a beach, surrounded by anthropomorphic chicken nuggets with limbs, eyes, and mouths, along with palm trees styled with French fry fronds.
“I want to go to there,” Johnson expressed. “Get me to God’s country, right?”
Johnson referenced the Instagram story Wallen shared following his sudden exit from the “SNL” stage. In the early hours of Sunday morning, Wallen posted a photo taken from inside an airplane on the tarmac and simply captioned it, “Get me to God’s country.”
A few days later, Wallen even launched merchandise featuring the phrase, including baseball caps and t-shirts.
Kenan Thompson spoke about the incident in a recent interview, sharing his bewilderment over the event. He mentioned to Entertainment Weekly, “I’m not sure what goes through people’s minds when they do things like that.”
“I’m uncertain if he grasped the situation or if he was just feeling some kind of way,” Thompson continued. “You notice someone before you even have a chance to greet them or commend their performance, and they simply take off.”
Thompson added that he believed Wallen might have had an urgent need to use the restroom, commenting that “it’s certainly a deviation from the norm.”
“We’re accustomed to everyone turning around and high-fiving us, with everyone saying, ‘Good job, good job, good job,’” Thompson remarked. “So when there’s a break from that routine, it’s like, ‘Hmm, I wonder what that’s about?’”
