Bowen Yang channels George Santos channeling Elton John in this week’s “Saturday Night Live” cold open, performing a parody of “Candle in the Wind.”
“It seems to me like I’ve lived my life like a scandal in the wind / Never knowing who to cling to when the law closed in,” Yang sings as the disgraced congressman. In the next verse, he belts out, “It seems to me like I’ve lived my life like an evil Forrest Gump / I’m the guy who lied even too much for Donald Trump.”
At one point, Yang pulls a “fake baby” out of the piano, mirroring a viral video in which Santos carries an undisclosed baby around the halls of Congress.
At the beginning of the sketch, Yang’s Santos fields questions from the media about his expulsion from Congress.
“This entire country has been bullying me just because I’m a proud, gay thief,” Yang says. “America hates to see a Latina queen winning.”
After the press conference, Yang waltzes over to a piano and begins singing in the style of Elton John, lamenting his time in Congress.
“You can blow me all you want, but I’ll never lose my light / And live from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night Live!’” he sings, opening the episode hosted by Emma Stone with musical guest Noah Kahan. In her monologue, Stone was welcomed into the “SNL” Five-Timers Club by Tina Fey and Candice Bergen.
Yang recently portrayed Santos during Weekend Update, after the ex-Congressman was found by a House Ethics Committee report to have spent tens of thousands of campaign dollars on designer clothes and shoes, Botox, OnlyFans, personal trips and casino roulette tables. More than $40,000 from his campaign’s bank account was found to have not been reported to the Federal Election Commission and used for personal expenses.
This season of “Saturday Night Live” has seen celebrity hosts Jason Momoa, Pete Davidson, Nate Bargatze and Timothée Chalamet, plus musical guests Tate McRae, Ice Spice, Foo Fighters and Boygenius. On the Oct. 21 episode, Bad Bunny pulled double duty and both hosted and performed. There has also been an influx of A-list cameos this season from such stars as Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Pedro Pascal, Lady Gaga, Mick Jagger, Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken and more.
Watch this week’s “SNL” cold open below.