For two weeks in a row, Saturday Night Live’s landmark 50th Season has made headlines amid the 2025 TV schedule for very live moment. The latest situation involves cast member Ego Nwodim, as she accidentally prompted the studio audience to swear on the show’s most recent broadcast. Nwodim's shock and Colin Jost’s unstoppable laughter were on full display. For any upcoming SNL hosts fearing this sort of fallout during their future slot on the show, worry not. Fellow series alum Bowen Yang provided a take that illuminates Nwodim's intent.
On the surface, some may think that it was Ego Nwodim's desire to have the audience say something obscene when turning the mic to them and asking, "These men ain't what?" However, the Wicked star, while co-hosting the Monday edition of Today with Jenna and Friends, stated that his co-star didn't mean to stir up controversy. Instead, her plan was to play with a practical element of comedy that's been synonymous with SNL for years:
I think the way it was written was, it was supposed to play to silence. The audience doesn’t know what the catchphrases are and I think this says something about the state of men in this current year of 2025 that everyone knew what to say at the same time.
It does say something that when listening to the unedited audio, close to (if not) the entire Saturday Night Live audience responded with “shit,” when prompted for this group version of fill-in-the-blank. And that came without any sort of encouragement from Nwodim, who performed the bit amid the latest edition of Weekend Update.
Adding to the sentiments, Today host Jenna Hager-Bush threw this comment into the discussion:
They didn’t even say, ‘Ain’t worth a damn,’ which I think we are allowed to say.
In this funny but absolutely “Not Ready for Primetime” moment, Ego Nwodim, a previous co-host of Today with Jenna and Friends herself, recovered with the intended punchline. She added a fun warning of how producer Lorne Michaels was probably less than thrilled about the situation. I'd say this'll likely become yet another entry in the list of SNL's most infamous moments.
At the same time, between Bowen Yang's additional remarks and Nwodim's reaction to the audience, the cast of this late-night institution seems pretty much absolved from potential blame. One could even say that this is one of the comparatively tamest entries in that canon, especially since the FCC regulations around profanity past 10 PM are much more relaxed these days.
While you can find the unedited clip through our previous reporting, as well as various social media platforms, you really have to see the censored version that’s been put onto YouTube - and Peacock subscription holders can likely find that altered version as well. Consider this an exercise to determine whether or not you’d have said the same thing unprompted:
There’s a history of Saturday Night Live moments in which you can tell the cast was playing with the lines of broadcast standards, and Ego Nwodim’s performance clearly doesn’t fall into that bucket. While it’s still enjoyable to watch, in whichever manner you choose, this wasn’t an example of someone going rogue.
For Bowen Yang to have her back is not only the actions of a good cast member, it’s also an instance where the context of the moment offers a reflection of us - the viewing public. Also, the potential bright side is that this week’s SNL host/musical guest combo of Jon Hamm and Lizzo should draw plenty of viewers curious as to whether or not another live faux pas might occur.
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