Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member Kenan Thompson explained how uncomfortable some castmates were when they were called back onstage with Kanye West at the end of the show’s premiere last weekend.
Thompson said he did enjoy watching the season premiere episode although he didn’t appear in it much, and he “got to watch the circus unfold,” referring to West’s unaired pro-Trump speech.
As the show ended, West took the stage wearing a “Make America Great Again”(MAGA) hat and made an unscripted pro-Trump speech after the credits rolled.
READ MORE: Kanye West faces immense backlash after ‘SNL’ pro-Trump rant
Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Thompson said, “He voiced his opinion, very loudly, for a long time.”
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“There was a circus on Saturday — a Kanye West-led circus,” Meyers said. “For those who didn’t watch, he did a song at the end of the show, then the show ended, and then it turned out that he brought the cast back onstage while he gave a very political speech.”
Thompson added, “We’re all entitled to our opinion, but you know, I don’t know if that’s the moment, necessarily, to hold people hostage like that — but hey.”
“As soon as he said, ‘Hey, join me up onstage everybody,’ I was like, ‘Oh, there goes the little cheese in the mousetrap,’” he said. “It’s going down. I felt so bad for those guys because it’s hard to stand there and not be able to debate somebody who’s going so far against, you know, your personal opinion and just stand there and take it.”
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Meyers and Thompson discussed how the SNL cast and crew members try to make the musical guests and hosts feel as comfortable as possible.
“We’re fair. We’re in the service business. We try to cater to the host, make sure they have a good show and whatnot, and then when musical guests come in and they’re a little bit crazy, maybe they’re a little bit crazy,” Thompson said.
“We let ’em have that. We don’t judge. We’re not there to judge,” he added.
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Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to complain about how SNL is “no longer funny, no talent or charm,” but he praised West.
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“Like many, I don’t watch Saturday Night Live (even though I past hosted it) — no longer funny, no talent or charm. It is just a political ad for the Dems. Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told ‘no’), was great. He’s leading the charge!” Trump tweeted.
Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter to write, “Is anyone even a little bit shocked that @kanyewest was bullied backstage for wanting to wear a #MAGA hat on SNL? Despite the BS they preach, the left isn’t tolerant of any view that differs even slightly from their own. You obey or you’re out.”
West said he “had so much fun at SNL.”
“Lorne agreed that I would host before the year is out. Need to set a date. Gonna be sooooooooo lit. In the words of Lil Pump …Esskeetit !” West tweeted.
Saturday Night Live airs on Global on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.
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