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On October 14, Saturday Night Live (SNL) opened its 49th season with topics such as Israel-Hamas, Taylor Swift, and Travis Kelce after being put on hold for a few months due to the Writers Guild of America strikes. The NBC show opened with comedian Pete Davidson as the host. He approached the current world situation from a personal angle and spoke about losing his father in the 9/11 attacks before moving on to the show’s real attraction, humor.
The comedy show, currently airing its 49th season, is expected to wrap up after season 50. The long-running show that started in 1975 as NBC’s Saturday Night bought the rights to change the name to Saturday Night Live in 1977. SNL has long been associated with famous names such as Jack Burns, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell and many more.
SNL host Pete Davidson brings a personal angle to the Israel-Hamas political situation
Pete Davidson, host for the 49th season of SNL, presented a cold opening to the show that returned after a gap. Referring to the images and stories from Gaza and Israel, he proposed that he was the right person to comment on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His tone reminded the audience of SNL’s stand and tributes during the 9/11 incident and last year’s Russia-Ukraine conflict. Pete reminisced about losing his father, Scott Davidson, a firefighter in New York City, to the 9/11 tragedy at the age of seven. He explained his personal take on the Israel-Hamas scenario, saying:
“I saw so many terrible pictures this week of children suffering – Israeli children and Palestinian children – and it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. No one in this world deserves to suffer, especially not kids.”
He further expressed his solidarity with the people suffering due to the Israel-Hamas conflict:
“My heart is with everyone whose lives have been destroyed this week. But tonight I’m going to do what I’ve always done in the face of tragedy and that’s try to be funny.”
His tribute to the victims of the tragedy came with the advice on comedy being the only way forward from tragedy. The show then moved on to the next part of comedy segments focusing on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
SNL's 49th opening had Ice Spice, with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in surprise cameos
While Ice Spice was the SNL opening show’s musical guest, she had a surprising announcer in Taylor Swift. The pop star made a cameo appearance to introduce the rapper’s second performance on the show. The singing sensation made an appearance in line with the theatrical release of her Eras Tour concert docu-movie.
The comedy segment of SNL focused on Taylor Swift and her rumored relationship with Travis Kelce. The American football player has had his run with witty remarks and has expressed displeasure over the tight spot awarded to the singer and his connection.
While Taylor Swift’s cameo was to promote Ice Spice’s performance, the unsuspecting cameo from footballer Travis Kelce came during the comic performance. In one such conversation, and in answer to Kenan Thompson’s remark about speaking with “someone who actually wants to talk football,” Travis Kelce popped up on the screen with a hearty, “Yes, please!” affording a round of laughter.
While it is commendable that the footballer displayed his sense of humor, the SNL show also had a parody of the Barbie song I’m Just Ken, changed to I’m Just Pete, where Pete Davidson joked about his appearance, mental health, rehab, and other issues.
