Okay, Saturday Night Live wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders last night, but there were some sparkling gems. Vanessa Bayer likely gave an NBC exec or six an aneurysm during Weekend Update, there was a Trump roasting Lemonade parody and of course “CHONK!” Bless you, Chonk.
SNL took on the condescending world of clothing ads that trumpet how they celebrate the diversity of women’s bodies, but come across tone-deaf and a**holey in presentation. The faux commercial starts off with cast members Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, Vanessa Bayer, Sasheer Zamata, and Melissa Villasenor beaming as a voiceover announces that these women can feel gorgeous at any size. Of course, it doesn’t take long for Cecily Strong’s narrator to twist a message of empowerment into an onslaught of backhanded compliments and fronthanded insults.
“We’re the only store that accepts your unique body,” announces the voice of Chonk to Zamata’s justified confusion.
Factor in a couple of additional twists, Strong’s ridiculous delivery of “CHONK!” and a bevy of increasingly disappointed faces and you’re got a segment that’s as hilarious as it is razor-sharp. (Gosh, we’re making this sound like gender studies homework, aren’t we?) Laugh because it’s funny, sigh because it’s painfully true. A genuine Best of Season 42 contender awaits in the magic rectangle we have nestled above.
