Kenan Thompson, our forever SNL uncle, has officially spoken about country singer Morgan Wallen’s Houdini act on Saturday Night Live. And he’s as confused as the rest of us.
So, here’s the deal: Wallen, the night’s musical guest, hit the stage for the usual end-of-show cast hug-fest. You know, that heartwarming moment when everyone pretends they had a great time. But instead of basking in the camaraderie, Morgan gave host Mikey Madison a side-hug (one-armed, like he was dodging a commitment) and then poof—he was gone. Like a dad who says he’s just going out for milk.
Kenan, a man who has seen it all after spending 400 years on SNL (okay, 20, but still), was just as baffled. “I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “Maybe he didn’t get the memo, maybe he had somewhere to be, or maybe… nature was calling.”
Honestly, Kenan wasn’t ruling out the bathroom emergency theory. “You see somebody before you get a chance to say, ‘Hey, good job!’ and they just… dip. I thought maybe he had to go to the potty or something.” Which, let’s be real, is the only logical explanation. Either that or he had a getaway car waiting outside.
Kenan also pointed out that Wallen ghosting the final moments wasn’t just weird for viewers—it threw the cast off too. “It’s definitely not normal,” he said. “We’re used to everybody high-fiving and fake-smiling through the exhaustion. So when someone exits stage left like that, we’re all like, ‘Uh, what just happened?’”
To make things even more awkward, Kenan admitted he’s never actually met Wallen, not during this visit or even back in 2020 when the singer almost performed but got benched for breaking COVID protocols. “Seems like a complicated individual,” Kenan shrugged. Translation: This man’s a mystery wrapped in a cowboy hat.
Kenan then dropped a wild comparison: “Prince did the same thing.” Wait, what?! Before we could start picturing Morgan Wallen shredding a guitar in a purple velvet suit, Kenan clarified, “I’m not saying Morgan Wallen is Prince.” (Good call, Kenan.) “But Prince was Prince. We weren’t surprised. Dude lived in his own world. With Morgan, it was just… different. Way more noticeable.”
And then came the cherry on top: After his great escape, Morgan posted an Instagram Story of a private jet with the caption, “Get me to God’s country.”
Kenan was not amused. “The ‘God’s country’ thing is weird. Like, what are you trying to say? That we’re not in God’s country? What, does He not have real estate in New York?” Kenan wondered. “We’re all under God’s umbrella, my dude.”
But, as always, Kenan had the last laugh. “Whatever. Moving on. We got Jack Black this week,” he said, brushing it off like the true SNL veteran he is. “We will be fine.”
And that is how you handle a country star pulling a magic trick on live TV.
