Scarlett Johansson and the cast of Saturday Night Live paid tribute to the show’s 50th season with a musical opening monologue that riffed on Billy Joel’s classic hit “Piano Man.”
Back for her seventh time hosting, the Jurassic World Rebirth star kicked off the night by proclaiming how “excited” she was “to be hosting the finale of season 50.”
“I’m so proud to be a part of it.” she said. “You know, 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.” After that, she launched into song.
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“It’s 11:30 on a Saturday, finale of season 50,” she sang. “It’s chaotic and crazy, the whole week is hazy, but there’s no place I’d rather be.”
Johansson started the monologue solo before she was slowly joined by more of the show’s cast members, beginning with Bowen Yang. “Scarlett, that was beautiful, you mind if I take the next verse?” he asked. “Oh well, it’s sort of my monologue,” she said before the Wicked star also launched into a tune of his own.
“Sometimes we play likable characters, other times we play J.D. Vance,” he sang. “It’s not always funny, we don’t do it for money, or else Sarah would buy better pants,” they both sang as fellow comedian Sarah Sherman joined them on-stage.
“La, la-la, di-dee-da, la-la, di-dee-da, da-dum,” they all sang, parodying Joel’s song. “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 then teased the audience out with a surprise Joel appearance by saying, “Ladies and gentleman, Billy Joel… wrote this song.”
“I thought Billy Joel was gonna come out,” Mikey Day said, to which she responded, “Oh, Mikey, so cute, so simple.”
She then pivoted to answering questions from the audience, to which the camera panned to Kenan Thompson in the audience. “Can you introduce me to a dinosaur?” he asked, referencing Johansson’s upcoming lead role in the new Jurassic film. “I’m sorry that I called on you,” she joked.
Johansson later sang a joke about Sherman 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 to hum the rest of the tune. “What do you mean leaving?” Though the cast joked about her potentially leaving the show, the topic wasn’t brought up again in the episode.
Earlier in the night, the finale cold open saw James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump recount the president’s recent trip to the Middle East with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, played by Emil Wakim.
Johnson’s Trump noted that he’d “been having a great time” and “am a big fan of everything that Saudi Arabia has to offer, from the oil to the money to end of list.” They later poked fun at Trump allegedly being 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, which Wakim’s bin Salman responded with “Well, not yet,” with Johnson’s Trump dubbing it down to a “pre-bribe.”
Later, Johnson’s Trump riffed on Morgan Wallen’s abrupt SNL viral exit earlier in the season. After the show, the country star shared a photo of what appeared to be taken from a private jet to his Instagram Stories where he wrote, “Get me to God’s country.”
“I don’t want to go home, let me stay,” Johnson’s Trump started. “Get me to Allah’s country.”
To conclude season 50’s final cold open, Johnson’s Trump noted that “since 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 Eleanor the Great director closed out SNL‘s 50th season on Saturday night alongside Bad Bunny. Johansson returned for her seventh hosting gig, while the three-time Grammy winner served as the musical guest for the third time after notably doubling as host and musical guest during his last appearance in October 2023.
Season 50 saw an array of hosts and musical guests, including the likes of Ariana Grande, Charli xcx, Timothée Chalamet, Lady Gaga, Mikey Madison, Morgan Wallen, Jack Black, Jon Hamm, Quinta Brunson and Walton Goggins, among others.
