Kenan Thompson is supportive of college protests as long as they don’t involve his daughter in ‘SNL’ cold open
Dan Heching, CNN | 5/6/2024, 2:51 p.m.
Kenan Thompson is pictured on this week's episode of 'Saturday Night Live' during the cold open.
Mandatory Credit: NBC via CNN Newsource
“Saturday Night Live” took on one of the top news stories of the past week on its latest episode, when cast members played concerned parents of New York City college kids involved in protests in the cold open over the weekend.
On Saturday’s episode – which was hosted by Dua Lipa (who also acted as musical guest) – Michael Longfellow played a talk show host who welcomed parents played by Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day and Kenan Thompson.
Longfellow remarked that it’s been a worrisome time on university campuses throughout the country, and sought comment from his guests.
While Gardner and Day’s characters expressed concerns about their children’s activities in the protests against Israel’s war against Hamas, Thompson said he was supportive of the efforts.
“Well I think it’s just great, it’s wonderful,” he said. “Nothing makes me prouder than young people using their voices to fight for what they believe in.”
But when Longfellow asked Thompson how he felt about his daughter, a Columbia student, specifically getting involved, the latter responded, “What’s that now? When whose daughter is out there? No man, you buggin’!”
“Alexis Vanessa Roberts better have her butt in class. Let me find out that she’s in one of those damn tents instead of the dorm room that I paid for,” he added.
When Day remarked, “I thought you were in favor of the student protests,” Thompson clapped back, “Brother man, I am supportive of y’all’s kids protesting. Not my kids. My kids know better, shoot.”
Thompson later added how his daughter wouldn’t talk about “free this, free that” in a protest, “because I’ll tell you what ain’t free – Columbia!”
He also mentioned how the school has “the nerve” to charge “$68,000 a year” for tuition, and how he is out there “bustin’ my hump” to pay it.
“I do it all. Uber all day, Uber Eats all night, cut grass on the weekends, sell Gucci wallets out my trunk,” he continued. “Life coaching on IG, I bounty hunt whenever possible.”
At Columbia University on Tuesday, dozens of protesters entered the university’s Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside before the institution asked for the New York City Police Department’s assistance.
At the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia as well as The City College of New York, 282 people were arrested, according to the NYPD.
Of the 112 people arrested at Columbia, 32 (or 29%) were not affiliated with the university, according to an NYPD official. At The City College of New York, 170 people were arrested and 102 (or 60%) of them were not affiliated with the college.
CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, Mark Morales and Celina Tebor contributed to this report.
