Scarlett Johansson,’SNL’ ‍Cast Salute 50th Season ‌with‌ Musical Monologue

Scarlett Johansson,hosting “saturday Night ⁣Live” for teh ⁣seventh time,joined the show’s cast ⁣in a musical opening monologue that paid homage to the program’s 50th season,riffing on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.”

The⁣ “Jurassic World Rebirth” star ⁣began the show by expressing her excitement about hosting the season‍ finale.”I’m so proud to‍ be a part of it,” she ⁢said.​ “I ⁤first hosted the show when I was 21 years old, so it’s crazy to be back here,⁣ what, like 3 ⁢years later. ⁣Man, time really flies.” She then launched into the musical number.

“It’s 11:30 on a Saturday, finale of season 50,”‍ Johansson sang. “It’s​ chaotic and crazy,⁤ the whole week is ⁢hazy, but there’s no place I’d rather be.”

Johansson initially performed solo before being joined by cast members, starting with Bowen ⁢Yang. “Scarlett,that was stunning,you​ mind if I take the next verse?” Yang asked.‌ Johansson quipped, “Oh well, it’s ⁣sort of ⁤my monologue,” before Yang launched into his ‍own verse.

“Sometimes we play likable characters, other times‌ we play J.D. Vance,” Yang sang. “It’s not ⁣always funny,we⁣ don’t do it for money,or else Sarah would buy better ‌pants,” they sang together as ⁣Sarah Sherman joined ‌them on stage.

The group parodied Joel’s song, singing, “La,​ la-la, di-dee-da, la-la, di-dee-da, da-dum. Sing us a ⁤song, it’s your monologue, ‍sing⁢ us a song​ tonight, as we made 50 ⁤years of great memories, every Saturday Night.”

Johansson teased the audience with the prospect of a Billy Joel appearance, saying, “Ladies and gentleman, Billy Joel…‍ wrote this ⁤song.”

“I thought Billy Joel was gonna come out,” Mikey Day said, to which ⁣Johansson responded, “Oh, Mikey, so cute, so ​simple.”

Johansson then took questions ⁣from the audience, calling on Kenan Thompson. “Can you introduce me to a dinosaur?” Thompson asked, referencing Johansson’s ⁣role in the upcoming‌ “Jurassic” film. “I’m sorry that I called on you,” she joked.

Later in the monologue, Johansson made a joke about Sherman ‍potentially leaving “SNL”: “It’s been a great season and Sarah is leaving, we’re all going miss you next year.”

“wait, what? Did you guys ‍hear something?” Sherman questioned, before the⁢ cast continued humming the tune. “What do you mean leaving?” The topic was not revisited later in the episode.

Cold Open ⁣Tackles Trump, Saudi ⁣Arabia

The finale’s cold open featured James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump discussing his recent trip​ to the Middle East with ‌Saudi ⁤Arabia’s Crown Prince ​Mohammed bin Salman,​ played by Emil Wakim.

Johnson’s ‌Trump said he’d “been having a great time”‌ and is “a big fan of everything⁢ that Saudi Arabia has to offer, from the oil to the money to ​end of list.” The sketch⁣ also poked fun at reports⁤ that Trump was allegedly offered a plane from the Qatari royal family.

“The Qataris gave me ​a $400 million plane, can you ‌believe that? And people said that was some sort of bribe.‍ Not true, not true, because they haven’t asked for anything in return,” he said, to which ‌Wakim’s bin Salman responded with ‍”Well,⁤ not yet,”‍ with⁣ Johnson’s Trump dubbing it down to a “pre-bribe.”

Johnson’s Trump ⁤also referenced Morgan Wallen’s earlier ‌exit. “I don’t⁢ want to go home, let me ‌stay,” Johnson’s Trump⁤ started. “Get me to Allah’s contry.”

Johnson’s Trump concluded the ‍cold open by noting, ​”As it’s the finale, that means after tonight you won’t be⁢ seeing me here for a while.‍ Well, not the fake, fun ⁢version‍ of me that makes you smile.”

“The real one ‍will be omnipresent. You can’t escape me, right? I’m everywhere, ⁢even in your dreams like the⁤ late great Freddy Krueger,”⁤ he said.”So, see you ⁣again in the fall, if we still have a country, right?”

The season finale was directed by⁤ the director of ⁣ Eleanor the Great and featured Bad Bunny as the musical guest. This marked Johansson’s seventh time hosting and Bad Bunny’s⁤ third musical guest appearance.

Season ‌50 featured a variety of hosts and musical guests, including Ariana ‍Grande, charli XCX, Timothée Chalamet, Lady Gaga, mikey Madison, Morgan Wallen, Jack Black, Jon Hamm, Quinta Brunson ‌and Walton Goggins, among others.