SNL Roasts Oscar Nominees, Cracks Iran Drone Joke
SkimNews Take
By weaving an Iranian drone strike joke into its Oscar monologue, Weekend Update reveals awards shows have become incidental props for packaging unrelated geopolitical anxieties into a single late-night segment.
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- Jeremy Culhane played Tucker Carlson on 'Weekend Update,' attacking best picture nominees including 'Sinners' — which he called 'Leftist woke America's favorite movie' — and 'Hamnet,' joking 'They took the 'L' and gave it to the 'GBTQ.''
- The Carlson impression riffed on 'Bugonia,' mocking Emma Stone's shaved head with 'heterosexual women aren't allowed to have hair anymore' and declaring 'I'm supposed to be attracted to that? No.'
- 'One Battle After Another' drew genuine confusion from the Carlson character, who said 'I did not see that movie' despite it leading this year's nominees alongside 'Sinners.'
- Anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che opened the segment with jokes about Trump's war on Iran, including a punchline that the FBI warned police Iran could retaliate with drone strikes on West Coast high-profile targets — 'The Oscars, tomorrow on NBC!'
- Jost also mocked the best actor race, framing it as a contest between Michael B. Jordan — who 'played two separate roles exploring themes of race and ancestral trauma' — and Timothée Chalamet, who played 'ping pong guy.'
Why it matters: The segment weaponized a real FBI warning that Iran could target West Coast events with drones, wrapping genuine national security anxiety into a punchline about the ceremony itself. It also positioned 'Sinners' and 'One Battle After Another' as the race's leading best picture contenders — free publicity disguised as a Carlson rant.
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