SNL’s Bowen Yang Appears to Throw Shade at Lorne Michaels Over Nikki Haley Cameo

Nick Caruso

5 February 2024 at 4:10 pm·2-min read

Bowen Yang may not have been too pleased about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s recent cameo on Saturday Night Live.

During Saturday’s cold open, Gayle King (played by Punkie Johnson) and Charles Barkley (Kenan Thompson) welcomed Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) to CNN to respond to voters’ questions. Haley appeared halfway through the skit when host Ayo Edebiri popped up as an audience member asking Haley, “What would you say was the main cause of the Civil War? And do you think it starts with an ‘S’ and ends with a ‘-lavery?'” Thankfully, Haley conceded that she does, essentially walking back her previous comments about the Civil War.

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In a since-deleted Instagram post Monday, Yang posted a photo of a bouquet of flowers and a note that executive producer Lorne Michaels left for the former South Carolina governor. Michaels signed the note, “From Lorne + everyone at SNL.”

Yang appeared to be throwing shade in his post’s caption, writing: “everyone! :)” Comments for the post were quickly disabled.

TVLine has reached out to reps for SNL and Yang for comment.

The week prior, Yang seemed to be distancing himself from his peers at the end of SNL’s Jan. 27 broadcast after comedian Dave Chappelle mysteriously appeared on stage during the cast’s goodbye segment. Chappelle, who has drawn ire from the LGBTQ+ community due to what many perceive as transphobic jokes in his stand-up, did not appear on-screen in the Dakota Johnson-hosted episode. Thus, his appearance seemingly sparked confusion among viewers and cast alike.

As Johnson rolled out her thank-yous, Yang stood on the opposite side of the stage with a blank look on his face and hands crossed in front of him. Cast member Sarah Sherman walked over to him and after the two appeared to have a quiet chat, she craned her neck to glance over in Chappelle’s direction. She was then seen patting her co-star on the back. (Watch video below.)

Thank you, Dakota Johnson, @jtimberlake, @jimmyfallon, @BarbaraCorcoran, @mcuban, and @TobeNwigwe! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/hsklV8ZraU
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 28, 2024

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