SNL

"Saturday Night Live" wasted no time diving into controversy during its Season 51 finale, opening the show with a brutally dark sketch featuring Will Ferrell as the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein haunting Donald Trump inside the Oval Office.

The cold open began with cast member James Austin Johnson portraying President Trump, who drifted off to sleep behind the Resolute Desk before being startled by the arrival of Ferrell’s chained-up Epstein apparition.

Ferrell’s version of the disgraced financier jokingly announced he had returned to visit his "best friend," while Johnson’s Trump reacted with excitement before complaining about sinking approval numbers.

Pete Davidson says his grandpa discovered gay porn on his computer, which led to fists flying at the computer monitor.

Check out the clip TMZ obtained ... the comedian unloaded the outrageous childhood story during a recent stand-up set ... recalling how he accidentally clicked on a graphic gay porn video when he was just 8 years old -- and wound up watching the whole thing out of sheer curiosity.

Pete said the "Lemon Party" video featured six 70-year-old men hooking up to the whistling theme song from "The Andy Griffith Show" ... which somehow makes the situation even more absurd.

"Saturday Night Live" returning host Matt Damon made a comeback as beer-loving Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during the cold open ... and the sketch turned into a full-on MAGA boys’ night out.

Damon’s Kavanaugh linked up with 'SNL' regular Colin Jost -- doing his infamous Pete Hegseth impression -- at a bar, where the two puffed up their political resumes ... joking about ending abortion rights and casually "starting wars" like it was no big deal.

But Kavanaugh quickly got emotional over what he called the country’s real emergency ... lonely dudes with nobody left to crush drinks with.

"Saturday Night Live" writer Jimmy Fowlie's sister, Christina Lynn Downer, who's been missing for months, once filed a restraining order ... and it's now being pored over by sleuths for possible clues.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ... in September 2024, Downer filed a temporary restraining order against her then-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend -- claiming she'd been harassing them, even threatening physical harm. The Daily Mail was first to report the order.

Christina also alleged the woman stalked her ... making a copy of her house key and threatening to break into her home. She also accused the woman of stealing several things, including a flash drive with nude photos.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel came under some heavy fire on "Saturday Night Live" over their alleged drinking habits -- and the jokes were so scathing, the two must be waking up with splitting headaches!

'SNL' regular Colin Jost kicked things off playing Hegseth in the opening sketch, walking out to a podium for a press conference with an oversized glass of Scotch on the rocks gripped in his hand.

Jost mockingly tells reporters, "I said I only had one," and then hands the glass to castmate Ashley Padilla, who played pregnant White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. As Jost passed the glass, he said, "Here you go, for the baby."

Jimmy Fowlie, a writer for "Saturday Night Live" whose sister has been missing for months, recently claimed cops told the family she's dead ... but Los Angeles police are calling that significant jump BS.

Here's the deal ... Christina Lynn Downer was last seen in L.A.'s Koreatown neighborhood four months ago ... and Jimmy has been giving updates on the search for her -- which included a jarring post yesterday stating cops allegedly told the family she's "no longer alive."

But now the LAPD is pushing back, telling TMZ ... “Robbery-Homicide Division continues to investigate the disappearance of Christina Downer. Although the circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious, Ms. Downer has not been located, and her case has not been reclassified as a homicide. RHD will diligently investigate this case until a resolution can be reached.”

In his latest post, Jimmy thanks everyone for their continued support and added ... "I'm gonna take a step back from social media due to the intense overwhelming feelings. Please take any info you may have directly to LAPD and not me."

We reached out to Jimmy for comment ... so far, no word back.

"Saturday Night Live" writer Jimmy Fowlie announced a tragic development in the search for his missing sister ... saying that she's "no longer alive."

Christina Lynn Downer had been missing for months ... and Jimmy's been posting pleas on social media asking for help finding her.

But on Wednesday, he said the LAPD has told his family that the search for Christina is no longer a missing person's case ... but now a homicide investigation.

The Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone is looking back at his "Saturday Night Live" days ... and calling out the one guest host who made him seriously uncomfortable ... Kevin Spacey.

Taccone spilled it on the "Obsessed" podcast, saying there was one person he "wasn't super geeked on" -- before finally naming Spacey -- admitting he'd never said it out loud before.

Jorma didn't go into much detail, just saying the vibe around Kevin during his guest-hosting in 2006 made him uneasy.

Martin Short and Steve Martin have taken their hit comedy show back on the road ... and it sure looks like they put on a pair of freaking fantastic performances after a sad tour pause.

The iconic funnymen actors returned over the weekend for a show in Savannah, GA and another in Birmingham, AL ... where they left the crowds in stitches, as seen in social posts.

As you know ... the duo's tour was paused after Short's daughter died on February 23. Multiple shows scheduled in March were rescheduled for September.

"Saturday Night Live" unloaded on Donald Trump last night ... but honestly, nobody was safe.

The show's cold open imagined Trump -- played by James Austin Johnson -- dialing up Tiger Woods ... and immediately regretting it. Instead of talking golf, Tiger drops a bombshell about his DUI and flipping his car, and Trump basically shrugs it off like, "should’ve told them we’re friends." Tiger -- played by Kenan Thompson -- responded that he did and it didn't work! Savage.

Next up ... Melania Trump, where things go from messy to straight-up unhinged. She floats the idea of giving a random speech denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump’s response? Says it sounds "a little insane."

And last but not least -- Pete Hegseth jumps into the mix -- portrayed as a war-hungry loose cannon giving wild updates about Iran, with jokes suggesting world leaders might actually prefer bombs over more U.S. negotiations.

"Saturday Night Live" took a swing at Kristi Noem this weekend ... zeroing in on her husband's alleged secret life in a headline-grabbing Weekend Update segment.

Cast member Sarah Sherman appeared as Bryon Noem, decked out in tight pink biker shorts and exaggerated fake breasts ... a clear jab at a Daily Mail report claiming the former South Dakota governor's husband dabbled in a so-called "bimbofication" fetish.

Sherman didn't hold back ... joking to Michael Che ... "My eyes are up here, my nipples are out here," and daring anyone to kink shame her on national TV.

Harry Styles pulled double duty on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend and delivered a monologue that had the audience cracking up ... especially when it ended with a surprise kiss.

The singer kicked things off by looking back at his last time hosting in 2019 -- when his fashion choices sparked debate online and accusations of "queerbaiting" -- a term used when someone is accused of courting LGBTQ+ audiences without actually identifying that way.

Rather than dodge the topic, Harry leaned into it.

Marcello Hernández wants to be Harry Styles so bad in the new “Saturday Night Live” promo … and the singer is setting him straight.

The teaser opens with Harry dancing to his song “American Girls” as he makes his way through the empty audience and to the stage.

Except … it’s not actually Harry.

"Saturday Night Live" went straight for the jugular, opening with a brutal send-up of President Donald Trump's decision to boot Kristi Noem from her post as Homeland Security secretary.

Colin Jost played Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a mock press briefing, casually informing reporters that Noem had been "reassigned under the bus." Moments later, Ashley Padilla strutted in as Noem to set the record straight.

"I just want to make it clear that I didn't get fired," she insisted. "I self-deported."

Ryan Gosling had a bit of a distraction sitting front row during his monologue as host of 'SNL' this week ... heart throb, and next week's host, Harry Styles!

Harry says he is only there to prepare for the show next week, but Ryan can't seem to get the "Aperture" singer out of his head as he tries to continue on with the open.

It doesn't help that the camera keeps cutting to Harry and eventually creates a split screen to keep Style's adorable face on our TVs the entire time.