Bowen Yang Responds After His SNL Sketch Divided Chappell Roan Fans
Roan is coming on SNL in a couple weeks, BTW.
Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang combined two of the internet’s latest hyper-fixations for his first Weekend Update character of Season 50, but not everyone was laughing. Yang dressed up as the inescapably viral young hippo Moo Deng, imagining the cute calf’s annoyance at suddenly becoming overwhelmingly famous. It’s a viewpoint that’s been widely discussed among Chappell Roan fans recently, so naturally, Yang alluded to some of Roan’s previous statements about her discomfort with fame.
“It has come to the point where I need to set some boundaries,” Yang’s Moo Deng espoused. “Reminder: Women owe you nothing. When I’m in my enclosure tripping over stuff, biting my trainer’s knee, I am at work. That is the project. Do not yell my name or expect a photo just because I’m your parasocial bestie, or because you appreciate my talent.”
The monologue directly mirrors the statement Roan posted back in August, in which she called out harassment from overzealous fans. To drive the comparison home even further, Yang’s character paraphrased Roan’s most well-known moniker, dubbing himself, “Your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo.”
However, not all of Roan’s fans appreciated the comedic moment. Some viewers expressed their disappointment in Yang “making fun of her,” especially since the two just had a heart-to-heart in Interview Magazine last month.
When the sketch was covered by Variety, the headline read that Yang was mocking Roan, which Yang took issue with. “Oh geez. ‘Mocks’???” Yang wrote in his Instagram stories, quoting the coverage. “If my personal stance and the piece aren’t absolutely clear in terms of supporting her then there it is I guess. Everything she has ever asked for has been reasonable and even then we can connect it to another story about boundaries or whatever.” He capped the statement off with a joke from the Moo Deng sketch: “Needing the hose rn...”
Over the course of the past year-and-a-half, Yang has repeatedly praised Roan’s artistry on several episodes of his podcast Las Culturistas. Roan herself is scheduled to be the musical guest on SNL on Nov. 2 — maybe this little bit of online drama could inspire a sketch for that appearance.
