Saturday Night Live ridiculed the nation’s fixation on a Chinese spy balloon that has been skimming the country in recent days.
In a hastily written and arranged sketch, the show’s cold open joked about obsessing over the object and his subsequent banging earlier on Saturday.
A missile attack sent the balloon into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.
SNL began its show with a mock news report covering the latest developments with MSNBC reporter Katy Tur, played by Chloe Fineman, attempting to provide viewers with analysis.
SNL’s Cold Open was a hastily arranged sketch based on the US military’s downing of a Chinese balloon earlier Saturday, with Bowen Yang playing the downed balloon
SNL began its show with a mock news report on the latest developments with MSNBC reporter Katy Tur, played by Chloe Fineman, attempting to provide viewers with analysis using mock tweets
Tur also gets a chance to interview the balloon, played by none other than Asian actor Bowen Yang.
“Our long national nightmare is over. We’ve got the balloon,” announced Tur.
“The discovery of the massive surveillance balloon earlier this week inflamed the already volatile US-China relationship, leading many on the right to describe the Biden administration’s response as soft.
Tur mocked right-wing hysteria, pointing to joke tweets from Donald Trump Jr. saying, “If my dad were president there would be no balloons!!!!!!” and one from Marjorie Taylor Greene saying : “Look, it’s the real moon!”
Tur then interviewed Pentagon official and aviation expert General William Hamilton, played by Kenan Thompson, who dryly proclaimed, “We burst the balloon.”
Tur then interviewed Pentagon official and aviation expert General William Hamilton, played by Kenan Thompson, who tonelessly announced, “We burst the balloon.”
“General, we have never seen an object like this enter our airspace before. How did that happen?” Tur asked.
Hamilton replied: “That’s an excellent question Katy. The balloon was somehow able to pass through our West Coast anti-balloon defense system – the Seattle Space Needle.
“But once it was there, we were able to keep an eye on it with our sophisticated tracking technology,” he said as he looked up and the audience laughed.
The general explained how the military could keep an eye on the balloon by looking…up!
The General showed a 3D rendering of the balloon, which turned out to be an inflatable toy balloon.
“I want everyone to know that we do not tolerate Chinese espionage of any kind,” the general said. “But to be honest they have everything they need from TikTok so scroll away kids!”
Tur then turned to the remains of the balloon itself, which the network used to secure a live interview.
“Well you got me! Congratulations, you launched a balloon,” Yang’s balloon scoffed.
“Well, I’m sorry you’re in the water, but thanks for talking to us,” Tur said to the balloon, which was being attacked by seagulls.
Yang played with the balloon and felt sorry for himself when he was floating in the Atlantic and was attacked by seagulls
“I entertain you guys for four days, but then I get shot down by Biden! I can’t believe I’m Joe’s Osama,” the balloon lamented.
“What did you fly over Montana?” asked Tur.
“I love the Yellowstone show, so I just went there. It’s like discipleship but outside. Now I’m all wet so… what a day!’ The balloon responded.
“I’m really surprised you’re still floating. Experts say you’re the size of three buses,” Tur noted.
‘OK. Ouch. I’m a balloon, so this is my body. How would you like someone to measure your width on buses? Sorry, I’m not ready for the camera,” the balloon replied curtly, seemingly taking offense at the weight comment.
“I’m sorry, people were worried they were being spied on,” Tur said.
“For me, a balloon. Everyone is constantly monitored, but they always “blow up the balloon” and never unpin Alexa! If you care so much about your details, why do you all keep your bank password in your notes app?
“Well, we just did what we had to do to protect the security of our country,” Tur said.
‘Why? Everyone freaks out because I’m a Chinese balloon. Because where I’m from, I’m just a balloon,” Yang said in his quirky costume.
“You made it very clear that I’m not welcome here, so good work. let me tell you something You’re going to miss that Chinese spy balloon—I mean, a regular balloon!”
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon floats over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail below
Back in the real world, hours before SNL aired, the US military announced how they shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after passing through sensitive military sites across North America.
China insisted the transfer was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and the consequences were imminent.
President Joe Biden gave the order but wanted the balloon launched even earlier, on Wednesday.
He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was afloat, US officials said.
Military officials determined that a fall over land from a height of 60,000 feet would pose an unreasonable risk to people on the ground.
The balloon was hit by a missile from an F-22 fighter just off Myrtle Beach, captivating skywatchers over a populated area known as Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that attract retirees and vacationers
China responded that it reserved the right to “take further action” and criticized the US for “an apparent overreaction and a serious breach of international practice.”
In its statement on Sunday, China’s Foreign Ministry said that “China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, while reserving the right to take further action in response.”
The balloon’s presence in the skies over the US this week dealt a major blow to already strained US-China relations, which have been on a downward spiral for years.
It prompted Foreign Minister Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at defusing tensions.
“They successfully mined it, and I want to compliment our Airmen who did it,” Biden said after disembarking from Air Force One en route to Camp David.
The spectacle had Americans staring at the sky all week and wondering if the mysterious balloon had hovered overhead