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Nate Bargatze reveals the true story behind his legendary George Washington SNL sketch

The initial table read did not get the reaction Bargatze expected.

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Seriously, what were our forefathers thinking with our measuring system?

America is definitely not afraid to do its own thing, even when its own thing is pretty weird. Ever stop to think how bizarre it is that the United States is one of the only countries to not use the metric system? Or how it uses the word “football” to describe a sport that, unlike fútbol, barely uses the feet at all?

What must our forefathers have been thinking as they were creating this brave new world? Wonder no further. All this and more is explored in a Saturday Night Live sketch that folks are hailing as an “instant classic.”

The hilarious clip takes place during the American Revolution, where George Washington rallies his troops with an impassioned speech about his future hopes for their fledgling country…all the while poking fun at America’s nonsensical measurements and language rules.

george washington, george washington's dream, snl sketch, nate bargatze "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by George Caleb BinghamPublic domain

Like seriously, liters and milliliters for soda, wine and alcohol but gallons, pints, and quarters for milk and paint? And no “u” after “o” in words like “armor” and “color” but “glamour” is okay?

The inherent humor in the scene is only amplified by comedian and host Nate Bargatze’s understated, deadpan delivery of Washington. Bargatze had quite a few hits during his hosting stint—including an opening monologue that acted as a mini comedy set—but this performance takes the cake.

Watch:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

All in all, people have been applauding the sketch, noting that it harkened back to what “SNL” does best, having fun with the simple things.

“This skit is an instant classic. I think people will be referencing it as one of the all time best SNL skits for years.”

“Dear SNL, whoever wrote this sketch, PLEASE let them write many many MANY more!”

“Instantly one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time!!!”

“I’m not lying when I say I have watched this sketch about 10 times and laughed just as hard every time.”

“This may be my favorite sketch ever. This is absolutely brilliant.”

Kenan Thompson Snl GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

The sketch was so popular, they did another one when Nate Bargatze returned to SNL in October of 2024, and it's every bit as hilarious as the first one. Again, the comedy focused on the idiosyncrasies of America, including our names for animal food products, the way we count grades in school, and the design of our currency.

"A real American would never want to know what's in a hot dog, just as they will never know why our money is called the 'dollar'…" says Bargatze as Washington. "And if you think I'm worthy, put my portrait on the front of it."

"And what shall be on the back, sir?" asks Kenan Thompson's character.

"Everything, all of it," Washington replies. "Crazy stuff, squiggles, Latin words, a pyramid with a floating eye on top."

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The sketches became so popular, people wanted to know more about how the idea for them came about and what the process of creating the original sketch was like. Jesse David Fox, the host of Good One: A Podcast About Jokes, sat down with Bargatze and SNL writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell to talk about the origins of the sketch and what it was like to co-create it in the week leading up to the live show. It's a fascinating insight into the SNL writing process, which is largely done within that week.

According to Day and Seidell, there had been an idea for a George Washington sketch in the vault of ideas that hadn't seen daylight yet, but it was just a vague idea without the focus of the weights and measurements and other things. Bargatze was on board with playing Washington, but apparently, the sketch was kind of a flop in rehearsals as the week went on, coming in dead last on the list of sketches they had prepared for the show. But Bargatze said he really liked the sketch, and once he was in costume and in front of a live audience for dress rehearsal, everything came together to make the magic of a classic SNL bit.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


Bargatze has rocketed into the comedy world with his clean stand-up routines that the whole family can enjoy. You can catch even more of Bargatze’s “SNL” episodes here and here.

This article originally appeared two years ago and has been updated.

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Michael Che played a hilarious April Fool's prank on Colin Jost and they couldn't keep it together

"That's the meanest thing you've ever done to me."

via Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Michael Che pulls a prank on Colin Jost.

Many great comedians have sat at the helm of the “Weekend Update” desk on Saturday Night Live over the show’s nearly 50 seasons. Chevy Chase was known for his cool deadpan. Dennis Miller was the hip intellectual. Norm Macdonald will go down in history for his endless OJ jokes that eventually got him removed from the desk. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon were a great double act that was a fun mix of high-brow and low-brow humor, and who could forget Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers?

The current anchors, Michael Che and Colin Jost, will probably be best known for making fun of each other. Over the years, one of the duo’s signature bits has been writing jokes for each other and reading them live for the first time. It seems like every time they do that bit, Che finds a new way to embarrass Jost.

On April Fool's Day 2023, Che was at it again, this time with a brutal April Fool’s prank where he secretly asked the audience not to laugh at any of Jost’s jokes.

Che and Jost opened their segment with jokes about the indictment of then-former president Donald Trump, but the audience laughed much harder at Che than at Jost. A few minutes into the bit, Jost made a joke at his own expense and it received only a smattering of laughter.

"At this point, it feels like even pro-Trump people have moved on," Jost said, referring to the trial before a superimposed image of him wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and a sign that read, "LET OUR BOY GO!" appeared on the screen.

The gag was met with an audience member screaming, “You stink!" The heckle was the last straw for Jost, who dropped his head in his hand in shame. At that point, Che gave up the gag.

"I told them not to laugh at you for April Fools,'" Che told Jost, and the two couldn’t keep it together. "That's the meanest thing you've ever done to me. I'm covered in sweat,” Jost told Che through fits of laughter.

"I was truly like, 'Am I not mic'd?' And then I was like, 'Oh, I just suck," Jost joked.

The crowd broke out in applause for Jost, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of acknowledging them after they refused to laugh at his jokes. "No, no! Don't even dare! Don't you even dare try now."

When it was Jost’s turn to tell his next joke, a bit about Florida's Ron DeSantis, Che said, “They’ll probably laugh at this next one.” And the audience did.

The episode was hosted by Abbot Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, who shined in “Traffic Altercation,” a sketch where she and Mikey Day played motorists screaming at each other in traffic. The crux of the bit was that they couldn’t hear what each other was saying, so they had to argue using hand signals.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Questlove's 'SNL' documentary opens with a mind-blowing musical mashup

Run-DMC, meet Hall & Oates

Screenshot from 'The Tonight Show' interview on YouTube

Questlove opens his 'SNL' documentary with an all-time great musical mashup.

Questlove—drummer/producer of hip-hop legends The Roots, longtime Tonight Show bandleader, Oscar-winning filmmaker, and an all-time elite music nerd—recently helped create a musical mashup destined for the pop culture time capsule. The seven-minute piece serves as the cold open to Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music, his new NBC documentary co-directed with Oz Rodriguez—but it’s truly a standalone work of art, cleverly blending sounds you’d never expect: Nelly and Franz Ferdinand, Cher and Hanson, Run-DMC and Hall & Oates.

The piece is bookended by snippets of R&B-rock songwriter Billy Preston, the first-ever SNL musical guest, from his performance on October 11, 1975. Everything else is brilliant madness, with songs from the past five decades forming a surreal collage. Usher’s Crunk&B hit "Yeah!" is matched with Gwen Stefani’s pop-rap chant-along "Hollaback Girl"; Nelly’s swaggering hip-hop smash "Hot in Herre" merges with Franz Ferdinand’s stomping indie-rock smash "Take Me Out."

The pairings get progressively more outrageous and wonderful—including Run-DMC’s "Walk This Way" with Hall & Oates’ "I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)," Cher’s "I Found Someone" with Hanson’s "MMMBop," Queen’s "Under Pressure" with Dave Matthews Band’s "Ants Marching," John Mellencamp’s "Hurt So Good" with Roy Orbison’s "Pretty Woman," Bobby McFerrin’s "Drive" with Busta Rhymes’ "Tear da Roof Off" and TLC’s "Creep," and NSYNC’s "Bye Bye Bye" with Dido’s "Thank You" and Destiny’s Child’s "Survivor."

In a recent Tonight Show interview with Jimmy Fallon, Questlove wrote that he watched every single SNL episode—including over 900 musical performances—while making the documentary. And the process of piecing together the opening section, he says, took 11 months. Fallon called the cold open "the greatest opening of any documentary," saying it gave him goosebumps. "You showed me the first six minutes of the doc in my office, and I think I cried," he said. "I think when you left, I teared up—I was so emotional."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music, which is available to stream via Peacock, is much more than its mind-blowing intro. The film chronicles some of the most innovative, controversial, and bizarre musical performances on the show, along with famous sketches ("James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party") and digital shorts ("Lazy Sunday") that are built around music.

On Instagram, Questlove enthused about his lifelong SNL "obsession."

"Thank god my family was hip enough to let their 5 year old kid wake up 12:30am to watch his fav show," he wrote. "It was a half hour early because most of my fav musicians were on SNL (Bill Withers/Gil Scott-Heron/Phoebe Snow/Al Jarreau/The Meters) … So doing this project was a NO BRAINER because I know this show like the back of my hand. So every second of this doc is a love letter of sorts."

Politics Activism GIF by NRDCGiphy

Questlove has been on a roll lately as a director. His other film project of 2025, the Sly and the Family Stone documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), recently premiered at Sundance and will hit Hulu on February 13.

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SNL ‘kinda’ banned this 1998 'Schoolhouse Rock' parody warning about corporate media control

Let's watch "Conspiracy Theory Rock."

via MetaphysicalMakaveli/YouTube

Conspiracy Theory Rock, from "Saturday Night Live."

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act, which reduced Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross-ownership so that major corporations could buy up smaller media outlets nationwide. This deregulation had far-reaching results, and 20 years later, 90% of the country’s major media companies were owned by just six corporations.

The consolidation of power over the country’s media into the hands of a few corporations rightfully disturbed many Americans who were worried a few powerful interests could shape the national narrative. “Saturday Night Live” writer Robert Smigel, who created the show’s “TV Funhouse” segment, best known for animated sketches featuring the “Ambiguously Gay Duo” and “The New Adventures of Mr. T,” took dead aim at the corporate media in a 1998 episode with a 2-minute “Schoolhouse Rock” parody called “Conspiracy Theory Rock.”



“Conspiracy Theory Rock” was a brave SNL piece because it didn’t hold back when discussing General Electric, NBC’s parent company. The sketch accuses GE of media manipulation, corporate welfare, influencing the FCC, manufacturing nuclear weapons, and producing cancer-causing pollution.

The controversial cartoon was reviewed by NBC corporate before hitting the air. “It did go through an extensive note process, beyond the Standards dept, and up the executive ladder,” Smigel recalled in an Instagram post. “I remember adding the ‘voices in my head’ line per their request to make the narrator seem crazier, not that it made a big difference.” But after a few minor notes, the network aired the sketch on the March 14 episode featuring host Julianne Moore and Backstreet Boys.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Did ‘Saturday Night Live’ ban ‘Conspiracy Theory Rock’?

Over the past 26 years, “Conspiracy Theory Rock” has earned the reputation of being a “banned” sketch, but that may be a bit of a conspiracy in and of itself. Was it cut from subsequent airings because it was controversial or because it simply wasn’t funny? SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels claims the cartoon was cut from reruns because it merely “wasn’t funny,” so they ran the second Backstreet Boys performance instead. It’s worth noting that when SNL episodes are rerun, they are often only an hour long (including commercials) instead of the usual 90-minute runtime.

However, Smigel's recollection breathes a bit of life into the controversy.

“Months passed, and all was calm until Adam McKay approached me,” Smigel recalled. “A pissed-off crew member had let Adam know the sketch was being cut from the rerun, replaced by a second Backstreet Boys song, which had no mentions of GE polluting the environment. I wasn't especially surprised, but Adam was fired up. He leaked the story to a few TV journalists who'd written about the cartoons. NBC claimed it wasn’t funny (not that it was), and that's why people know and still talk about it today.”

The sketch would be included in the 2006 “Best of TV Funhouse” DVD, so Smigel believes it has only been “kinda banned.” However, the cartoon does not appear in the rerun of the March 14, 1998 episode currently streaming on Peacock. The Backstreet Boys performance is also not included due to music rights issues.

Ultimately, it’s hard to know whether the cartoon was banned or dropped from broadcasts due to its lack of humor. But we know that Smigel was brave in pointing out the problems posed by corporate media control. His willingness to criticize those in power reminds us how rare it is to see satire that questions the very system airing it. Twenty-six years later, it still makes the rounds online because the problems he pointed out are still with us today.

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