“Saturday Night Live‘s” cold open took direct aim at the internet obsession about Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson with a sketch that featured Sarah Sherman as true crime maven Nancy Grace.
“Y’all psychos find him a sex symbol,” Sherman as Grace told the audience in diving into the shocking story of the brazen Dec. 4 slaying in Manhattan of Thompson walked to an investor conference. With over-the-top tabloid delivery Grace observed that Mangione “has women and gay guys hot and bothered,” describing him as “Dave Franco with Eugene Levy’s eyebrows.”
Kenan Thompson appeared later in the sketch as a man on the street who happened to encounter the killer. Interviewing him at the McDonald’s where the alleged killer was caught, Grace asked Thompson’s character “can you believe people were attracted to this sexy slayer?”
To which Thompson replied, “Women love bad boys.” He also referenced the alleged manifesto against the health care industry that Mangione is alleged to have written and made available online. “Back in the day, you could impress women with a little poem. Now you have to write a manifesto.”
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The cold open also poked fun at the experience of watching a video on YouTube when a jarring ad break hits mid-sentence. Sherman’s Grace warned viewers that she might be interrupted at any more “by ab insanely loud ad” and then, of course, the scene jumped to “SNL” cast member Marcello Hernandez delivering a rapid-fire exercise machine pitch.
Grace’s other guest was played by Emil Wakim, a man who looks like Mangione. “I’ve gotten some of the horniest DMs in my life,” the Wakim character said.
The cold open is a staple of “SNL” and it’s often a vehicle for celebrity cameos. This past week, Dana Carvey‘s Church Lady character returned to the “Saturday Night Live” Cold Open segment.
Earlier in the season, for the Season 50 premiere cold open, Maya Rudolph portrayed Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris alongside James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, Bowen Yang as JD Vance, Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff and Carvey as Joe Biden.