“Saturday night live” assumed one of the top news from last week in its latest episode, when cast members played concerned parents of New York college students involved in open-air protests over the weekend.
In Saturday’s episode – which was hosted by Dua Lipa (who also served as musical guest) – Michael Longfellow played a talk show host who welcomed his parents played by Heidi Gardner, Mikey’s Day It is Kenan Thompson.
Longfellow noted that it has been a troubling time on college campuses across the country and solicited comments from his guests.
Although Gardner and Day’s characters expressed concerns about their children’s activities in protests against Israel’s war against Hamas, Thompson said he supported the efforts.
“Well, I think it’s great, it’s wonderful,” he said. “Nothing makes me prouder than young people who use their voices to fight for what they believe in.”
But when Longfellow asked Thompson how he felt about the specific involvement of his daughter, a Columbia student, the latter responded, “What is it now? When whose daughter is outside? No man, you’re pissed!
“Alexis Vanessa Roberts better have her ass in class. Let me find out she’s in one of those damn tents instead of the dorm I paid for,” she added.
When Day commented, “I thought you were in favor of student protests,” Thompson responded, “Brother, I support your children’s protests. Not my children. My kids know better, shoot.
Thompson later added how her daughter didn’t talk about “free this, free that” at a protest, “because I’ll tell you what’s not free — Columbia!”
He also mentioned how the school has “the nerve” to charge “$68,000 a year” for tuition, and how he is out there “killing it” to pay it.
“I do everything. Uber all day, Uber Eats all night, mowing lawns on the weekends, selling Gucci wallets out of my trunk,” he continued. “Life coaching on IG, I hunt for rewards whenever possible.”
At Columbia University on Tuesday, dozens of protesters entered the university’s Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside before the institution requested assistance from the New York City Police Department.
At the pro-Palestinian protests in Columbia and also at the City College of New York, 282 people were arrested, according to the NYPD.
Of the 112 people arrested at Columbia, 32 (or 29%) were not affiliated with the university, according to an NYPD official. At City College of New York, 170 people were arrested and 102 (or 60%) of them were not affiliated with the college.
CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, Mark Morales and Celina Tebor contributed to this report.
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