You know how British royalists have been screaming “but South Park” for two years? In 2023, South Park satirized the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (mostly Harry) and British commentators insisted that South Park was the most culturally relevant show of all time and that the Sussex send-up was the most devastating cultural critique in America. Well, now Saturday Night Live’s writers added a joke about the Sussexes in the Weekend Update segment. I’ve queued the video to the joke:
The joke: “President Trump also announced a new trade deal with the UK that will reopen British markets for American companies. All that Britain demands in return is that we keep these two,” with a photo of Harry and Meghan. The reference is to Prince Harry’s security case loss and the British government’s refusal to adequately protect the Sussexes for any potential visit. Get it? It’s funny because the entire British establishment is scapegoating Prince Harry.
Some of the commentary about the joke: “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are SAVAGED on SNL in UK trade deal joke” and “Prince Harry, Meghan Markle brutally roasted on ‘SNL’ as Colin Jost says UK wants the US to ‘keep’ the royals” and “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry brutally mocked over ‘UK’s demand’.” I don’t know, guys, you think they’re overreacting a bit? Jesus. What’s also funny – I guess? – is that the other left-behinds are such nonentities at this point, they can’t even really be referenced on SNL.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s IG and SNL screengrab.
Of course, because mentioning Harry/Meghan is where the money is at. Was anything else from that night spoken of in the news the next day? Nope. I hope Harry/Meghan drift AWAY from being the occasional punchline, and with Meghan posting almost daily on Instagram (which is an EXCELLENT thing) Im sure that wont happen as an inadvertent, or intentional aspect of her postings may very well be to bring the conversation back to serious and lovely things like her family and her and her husband’s causes.
This isnt the first time and it wont be the last that SNL (which I have always thought has evolved into a mean-spirited “GOTCHA” program) makes fun of Harry/Meghan, because most things H&M do good or bad or inaccurately described, get clicks and so, make the news.
Not really a fan of SNL ever, but the longer it airs the less and less amusing it is. It irks that Rump is kissing up to the UK, but slighting Canada. If being part of the Commonwealth is supposed to be so beneficial, the deal with the UK should be “we will trade with you, but our Commonwealth countries have to be included.”
The joke would have been really bad if it was the US requesting to ship them back, but the joke only highlights what we now all know, that they want to keep them out.
It’s hard to even see it as a “joke” against them and it’s definitely not “savage”. We all have known since before 2020 that they don’t want them in the UK, so there’s really no joke there, it’s just facts. We’ve already known that the reason the left behinds don’t won’t them in the UK is because they put them all to shame and run circles around them in appearance and impact. So it was basically wasted energy when they could have joked about something that is actually funny. It’s basically a constant repeat of saying the same old thing. The derangers think that any reference to Harry and Meghan, is a joke against them, but the many jokes said about the left behinds always hit a lot harder, like the South Park episode about William pegging with Kate’s arm.
Huh. My timeline must be clean bc I didn’t even know about this “brutal roast.” Mine was filled with Beyoncé concert pics of Harry and Megan looked sexy and gorgeous. So sure. Np. We’ll be keeping them. Thinking we got the better deal. So who’s really being roasted?
Worry when they stop talking about you…
It seems Meghan’s social media videos and images provide the little peeks in much the manner, if greater in volume, of the newsreel cameras at the turn of the 20th century.
We all kind of do similar in our little worlds and families and so it’s the more striking that the RF and Kate in particular can’t seem to provide the equivalent warm output without the professional help provided to make that sterile Spring video, for example.
I’ve wondered if we will see a behavioral difference between the more private Sussex siblings and the exposed from childhood Wales kids as they age and are exposed to more of the press.
Keep them!? No problem! Trying to take them back, that would be an issue. *readies musket*
I thought a brutal roast was when daniel Kaluuya (I think it was him) hosted and made a comment about how he was what the royal family was afraid the baby would look like. That seemed worse to me than this, I dunno.
This is a pretty tame joke, but this is being written about by a media that asks every single American celebrity that they interview regardless of how tenuous the connection may be or regardless if they’re even is one what they think of Harry and Meghan. This is also a media that spends their time acting as stenographers for a group of people that wanted people to find a pledge it’s a promise not to mention Harry and Meghan before they show up for work.
I mean this is normal? Famous people get made fun of on SNL and South Park and Family Guy and in monologues by late night talk show hosts. I suppose if you think that people are only supposed to show undying fealty and deference that you would think this indicates…. something. It didn’t make any dudes ways because they made fun of a lot of people and we can’t update including Chicagoans because of the new pope, Trump, Jeanine Pi, it’s kind of what they do.
To this day I still believe that South Park episode was written with a direct brief from either the UK press or the palaces. The way that one episode is still mentioned in a lot of H and M hate commentary as if it is obligatory can’t be coincidental.
As a former South Park fan (hey I was 13!) I can tell you I couldn’t disagree with this take more. I don’t think Trey and Matt give one single sh*t what the UK press or royal family think or would do their bidding for any reason.
You’re welcome to disagree with their characterizations of course, but that doesn’t mean they were doing the royal family’s dirty work.
They should go after the keens. South park had a program about the keens
They ignore the South Park episode about the keens, which was a hundred times worse even before the rumors of William being into pegging became a huge talking point. Most people had never even known what pegging was until the rumors about William became a thing. Now I can’t look at him without thinking of him as Peggington. I couldn’t even look at his beard buddy Knauf after learning that Knauf in German means knob. That is so much worse than SNL repeating the same thing we’ve known and heard since before 2020. The same with the royal cartoon a few years ago where the Will, Kate, Camilla and Charles characters were far worse than the Harry and Meghan ones. At this point anything about them not being welcomed in the UK that was supposed to be funny or entertaining is stale and boring. It’s a constant repeat of the same stuff.
I agree the rest of the Rf is not worthwhile mentioning.
However I felt the the joke was on the UK. They did not get much out of the trade deal. The UK is still worse of than before Trumps tariffs.
That’s partially why the joke didn’t hit the way the derangers think it did. As Americans in this supposed trade deal we got the Sussexes while the UK keep the tax funded royals who don’t do anything worth even focusing on. They’ve been on vacation the majority of the first quarter of the year and have been out a significant amount of time in this recent week, yet SNL didn’t think it was important enough to even mention the other royals. That’s more embarrassing than them repeating the same talking point that we’ve known and heard about since before 2020.
If anything the joke illustrates the British obsession with Harry and Meghan and that they are the most relevant members of the Royal Family. The press can attempt to console themselves by believing that SNL roasted Harry and Meghan but they are desperate for Harry and Meghan to return to the UK.
The joke was directed at the BRF, as in, they are so fucking petty that the only thing they want from an international trade deal is to keep them out. I howled! The joke is about the pettiness of the UK press.
That was how I read it, too. It’s certainly not “savage” in any way, just barely funny “you lost H&M in the trade deal, haha.”
Exactly this.. but leave it to the tabloids to twist it.🙄
I wasn’t offended by this joke. SNL normally takes a neutral position on H&M and made several jokes in their favor.
Look, when Weekend Update said the Queen’s extended absence can only mean one thing, ‘new titties” i laughed heartily. To bad she died later that year.
How is this a diss on the Sussexes? It’s clearly showing the rest of the world see through their bs regarding security. It shows we all know what Harry said is true: they are using it as a form of control.
This joke totally not roasting H&M. It’s more like a “haha, the UK is stupid they demanded we keep two people that never wanted to go back anyway” joke. They demanded the US keep two people who weren’t asking to leave.
I mean it was a little meh like they should have said We’ll take them! or Gladly! Or something like that. But mostly it highlighted the UK media obsession with them.
I agree.
Falls under the heading “Hey, Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time!”
😎
It was a mild joke. Nobody should take themselves too serious. If i were Megs or Harry i would LMAO.
This was in no way a roast. It wasn’t a zinger or particularly funny either, but definitely not a roast of H&M.
Honestly they could have spoofed her show and I could write those jokes (putting stuff in another plastic bag for example) and it still wouldn’t have been a roast. When you’re spoofed or joked about on SNL it just means you are pop culturally relevant and people are talking about you.
SNL hasn’t been funny in decades.
I miss the days when it truly was – Steve Martin, Gilda Radner, the Belushi Brothers – those were by FAR the best years.
Father Guido Sarducci, Baba Wawa, Eddie Murphy in the James Brown hot tub sketch, Lisa Loopner and Todd, “Jane you ignorant slut!”, Belushi as the Samurai delicatessen and crazed weatherman “March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir!”….*SIGH* those were the days.
Isn’t SNL talking about airing a live UK version? To me, this is an attempt to test audience reception.
SNL makes fun of everyone. I think here they were also making fun of the UK- out of all things going in the world , all they’re obsessed about is HM.
It may not have been a very funny joke, but being made fun of on SNL is something a lot of young actors and comedians would have to have happen to them because it means they are successful!
No way was that joke intended to be brutal or horrific.
This always happens to black women. Get a job, do it too well. Get sabotaged.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Also, Colin Jost is not funny.