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Comedian Dave Chappelle makes a surprise appearance, but does not speak, in the final moments of the show.
“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” interrupting host Dakota Johnson’s opening monologue while joking with the night’s musical guest, Justin Timberlake.
Johnson opened the show by noting that it was his first visit to Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8-H since 2015, when he first hosted “SNL” immediately following its historic 40th anniversary special when the audience was packed with notables such as directors Steven Spielberg , George Lucas and Donald Trump, months before he launched his first successful campaign for the White House. A photo of Johnson among that starry crowd appeared on the screen. Johnson did not mention Trump by name, but he made a joke at the controversial former president’s expense.
“Look at this group of people. It’s crazy to be so close to someone that she would become the most powerful person in America,” Johnson said as the camera panned to Taylor Swift sitting near Johnson in the 2015 photo.
At the end of the episode, in the traditional segment where the “SNL” crew and guests gather to say goodnight to the audience, attentive viewers quickly spotted comedian Dave Chappelle standing on the far right next to Jimmy Fallon. Chappelle smiled widely, clapped and bowed to the crowd, but did not speak, nor did the others mention to the comedian that he has become divisive for his unapologetic inclusion of homophobic material in his stand-up routines.
Dave Chappelle, pictured far right, made a surprise cameo in the final seconds of the show.
During his monologue segment, Johnson poked fun at the fact that he is currently on a media tour to promote his upcoming Sony Pictures thriller, “Madame Web.” He noted that he does not usually enjoy interacting with journalists and that this has been a constant in his life. She then showed a clip of herself as a preteen, joking and rolling her eyes on a red carpet in the late 1990s while her father, actor Don Johnson, joked with reporters.
When Johnson referenced Timberlake being the night’s musical guest, the pop superstar appeared on stage, feigning confusion because he was also expected to host.
“If you want me to appear in sketches, I’ve hosted before,” Timberlake said, raising his hand to indicate that he has hosted the show five times. Timberlake made a cheeky joke about his fake mistake that referenced his 2006 smash hit, “SexyBack.”
“First it was bringing sexy back and now it’s coming back,” Timberlake joked. After a pause, he said, “Now that I heard that out loud…” and shook his head. At that point, Fallon took the stage in a surprise appearance. The “Tonight Show” host sported a light tan 1970s disco-style casual suit with a wide lapel and Barry Gibb-style puffy hair and close-cropped beard. “I’m here to say: break a leg,” Fallon joked.
Later in the show, Timberlake joined his first sketch, “The Barry Gibb Talk Show,” which featured Fallon’s return as Barry Gibb. Timberlake played Gibb’s younger brother Robin (who died in 2012), and wore a similar outfit but with long, feathered hair. The Australian Gibb brothers chatted with their distinctive diction about the tense state of American politics, with Trump set to secure the Republican nomination as he attempts to return to the White House following his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
As for “Weekend Update,” comments about Trump and his long list of legal problems and strange behavior during the election campaign dominated the first half of the segment. Host Colin Jost posted a clip of Trump using the term “unseat” during a campaign speech. “I don’t know what the term ‘undoctor’ means, but he may have to take an ambulance to see the dedoctor,” Jost said.
The other dominant theme of the fake news segment was this week’s Oscar nominations and the strides made by nominees from underrepresented backgrounds. “SNL” regular Bowen Yang played a film enthusiast named Ethan who came to the set to announce a new awards show called “The Ethans.” Yang’s Ethan at one point gave a nod to the real-life speech given on January 15 at the Emmy Awards by winner Niecy Nash-Betts. “I want to thank me for believing in me” Ethan said of Yang dramatically before Jost noticed that he was copying Nash-Betts’ memorable acceptance remarks. “What a girl with your bad self. “You did that,” Ethan continued.
Two other surprise cameos came toward the end of the episode when “Shark Tank” judges Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban appeared in a sketch featuring Johnson as a caustic member of a women’s book club. Johnson played a sarcastic woman determined to launch a company to sell T-shirts with a detailed slogan beginning “I’m fine.” Corcoran came in toward the end of the sketch to offer Johnson’s character a deal to acquire a stake in the company, as is customary on “Shark Tank.” Corcoran was followed by Cuban, who offered him $1 million, much to the surprise of the other book club members.
Timberlake recorded his seventh time as the show’s musical performer since he first appeared on the “SNL” stage with Nsync in 2000. The veteran hitmaker is about to release a new album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” via RCA Records on March 15, and is about to embark on the Forget Tomorrow world tour, which kicks off April 29 in Vancouver.
The first song Timberlake performed was “Sanctified,” with a rap performed by Tobe Nwigwe backed by a small, smartly dressed choir. In contrast, Timberlake’s second song, “Selfish,” was a simple performance accompanied only by keyboard and drums.
(Pictured: Justin Timberlake, Dakota Johnson and Jimmy Fallon)