The 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live (SNL) was expected to be a nostalgic celebration, bringing together Hollywood’s elite, including Meryl Streep, Martin Short, Jack Nicholson, and Aubrey Plaza.
However, amid the festivities, veteran actor Tom Hanks took center stage and delivered a performance that has since ignited a firestorm of controversy, particularly among supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Hanks, a seasoned SNL host, started the evening with a monologue that humorously acknowledged the show’s history of sketches that have not aged well.
Dressed in a tuxedo, he introduced an “In Memoriam” segment, supposedly to honor “countless members of the SNL family that were taken from us too soon.”
He soon revealed the twist—he wasn’t talking about people, but rather problematic characters and sketches from the show’s past.
“Even though these characters, accents, and… let’s just call them ‘ethnic’ wigs were unquestionably in poor taste, you all laughed at them,” Hanks remarked.
He then added, “So if anyone should be canceled, shouldn’t it be you, the audience?”
The statement was met with a mix of laughter and awkwardness as it called out the audience’s past complicity in outdated humor.
This self-referential critique set the stage for a revival of one of Hanks’ most controversial characters.
Reprising his role from a 2016 sketch, Hanks portrayed “Doug,” a stereotypical Trump supporter, in a segment titled Black Jeopardy.
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat, Doug engaged in humorous exchanges with the show’s host, Darnell Hayes, played by Kenan Thompson.
The sketch was meant to highlight unexpected commonalities between Doug and the other contestants, touching on topics that resonate across different communities.
While some viewers found the performance entertaining and insightful, others were outraged.
Many Trump supporters accused SNL and Hanks of mocking them by portraying Republican voters as “racist rednecks.”
Critics flooded social media, claiming that the skit unfairly painted conservatives in a negative light.
Former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advisor Link Lauren took to Twitter, writing, “Tom Hanks just came out on SNL in a MAGA hat for a bit where he acted like he didn’t want to shake a black man’s hand. This show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter.”
The backlash did not stop there, as more conservatives expressed their discontent over the portrayal.
Former SNL cast member Victoria Jackson also voiced her criticism, questioning the intent and fairness of the sketch.
“Did anyone make fun of the Kamala supporters?” Jackson asked, implying a perceived political bias in SNL’s satire.
Despite the controversy, some viewers defended the sketch, calling it “spot on” and “hilarious.”
One Twitter user commented, “I feel like some people are just now discovering the Tom Hanks Black Jeopardy SNL skit. This is not new to 2025. And it was funny. Lighten up.”
This is not the first time SNL has found itself at the center of a political storm.
The long-running comedy show has often sparked debates over whether its political humor crosses the line.
With Hanks’ latest performance, the debate over SNL’s portrayal of conservatives has once again been reignited.
Featured Image Credit: (Instagram/ @tomhanks)
