‘Saturday Night Live’: Host Quinta Brunson Makes Plea to Pay Teachers More; Trump Offers to ‘Go Quietly to Prison’ in April Fools’ Sketch

Katie Reul
·3 min read

Class is back in session with “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson, whose April 1 hosting debut on “Saturday Night Live” featured a comedic lesson on why she and her character, Janine Teagues, are actually nothing alike.

“I love that people are enjoying ‘Abbott,’ but I wish that they didn’t expect me to be exactly like my character all the time in public. Janine Teagues is a second grade teacher who is caring and wholesome, but I’m the opposite. I mean, I’m not a filthy whore but I like to have fun,” Brunson joked.

More from Variety

For viewers not familiar with Brunson, the actor provided a biting description of her acclaimed mockumentary series that caused an eruption of laughter among the crowd: “It’s a network sitcom, like ‘Friends,’ but instead of being about a group of friends it’s about a group of teachers, instead of New York it’s Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does.”

The Emmy winner paralleled the series to her own background, growing up in Philadelphia as the child of a teacher. Brunson went on to explain how, as a result, some viewers assume she has a detailed understanding of the public school system: “I just want people to lower their expectations of me,” she said. “I’m still young — still figuring things out.”

By the same token, Brunson said she often downplays her interactions with celebrities when talking with her family. She cited one example of a time she lied to her mother about meeting former president Barack Obama, and presented a video of the two of them as proof. In the clip, Obama pays recognition to Brunson’s mother for devoting her life to being a teacher, which he called “the most important job there is.”

“Remember how important teachers are, acknowledge the work they do every day, and for the love of God, pay them the money they deserve,” Brunson added after the video concluded.

The episode opened with featured player James Austin Johnson portraying Donald Trump in a political sketch that comes two days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury. With Trump’s indictment, he is the first president in U.S. history to ever be charged with a crime.

“Frankly, it’s time that I come clean, admit that I broke the law and go quietly to prison,” Johnson said, embodying Trump. “April Fools. That was a prank. I was doing a Jim from ‘The Office.’ But make no mistake, what the radical-led democrats are doing to me is worse than any crime I’ve ever committed, and I’ve committed a lot — close to 34.”

After delivering the speech, Johnson’s Trump was joined by Kenan Thompson as Don King, the boxing promoter and known Trump supporter. The two shared a heartfelt moment on stage, singing Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ “Islands in the Stream.”

Rapper Miles McCollum, known to fans as Lil Yachty, also made his first-time appearance on the long-running sketch show as the evening’s musical guest. The two-time Grammy nominee released his fifth studio album, “Let’s Start Here” at the beginning of 2023.

“Saturday Night Live” stars Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Punkie Johnson and Andrew Dismukes as well as Michael Che and Colin Jost, co-anchors of Weekend Update. James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker are featured players among the ensemble.

Series creator Lorne Michaels and director Liz Patrick are at the helm of the long-running series, which is currently on its 48th season. The show is produced by Broadway Video and SNL Studios.

Watch “Saturday Night Live” at 8:30 p.m. PT/11:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • UPDATE 1-Mexico's Slim eyes $7.7 billion investment in Brazil in coming years

    Mexican magnate Carlos Slim is considering investing more than 40 billion reais ($7.70 billion) in Brazil in the coming years, he said on Friday, after meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Slim, whose family controls telecommunications giant America Movil, said the investments would be made in Brazil's 5G and fiber-optic networks. America Movil-owned Claro is a huge player in the South American country's telecom sector.

  • US State Dept 'fully expects' to finalize new AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days

    The U.S. State Department said on Friday it fully expects to finalize new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defense project with Australia and Britain over the next 120 days. "Exemptions in our export control systems, within a framework of shared standards with Australia and the UK, are key to harnessing and maximizing the innovative power residing in our defense industrial bases," the department said in a statement. "We fully expect to finalize the new trade exemptions – based on stakeholder input – over the course of the next 120 days," it said.

  • Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

    He had three spells at Burnley, helped hometown club Swansea in to the top tier of English football and won 54 caps for his country.

  • N.B. environment minister resigns, citing political differences with Higgs's Tories

    FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s environment minister quit on Friday, citing political differences with the Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Blaine Higgs. Gary Crossman announced his decision on social media, saying that after 10 years representing the Saint John-area riding of Hampton, he has to prioritize his health. “My personal and political beliefs no longer align in many ways with the direction of our party and government,” Crossman wrote. He did not specify which of his bel

  • Fed report cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks

    Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 U.S. presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks." "Contacts noted several areas of uncertainty including trade policy and other foreign policy issues related to escalating geopolitical tensions," the Fed said on Friday in its semi-annual survey of 25 market participants, academics and other contacts. The survey results were included as part of the Fed's latest Financial Stability Report, which looks at issues like leverage and risk-taking throughout the economy to try to identify potential trouble spots.

  • Private schools may have been included in Cambridge University scheme for deprived teens

    Private school pupils may have been flagged for inclusion in a Cambridge University scheme designed to help deprived teenagers, an investigation has found.

  • Nvidia Sinks, Exposing 8 'Secrets' For When To Sell Stocks

    As top growth stocks like Nvidia fall below key moving averages, keep in mind these proven rules for when to sell stocks.

  • Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department – live updates: What critics and fans are saying

    Pop star shares message with fans from Instagram as fans celebrate new album release, with many noticing several lyrical references to The 1975’s Matty Healy along with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn

  • Forget Tesla. Top Funds Love This Non-Mag 7 AI Giant.

    As Tesla tanks, top funds bet big on AI leader Broadcom stock, as well as Nvidia and Google. But market pressures rise.

  • Stock market today: Tech stocks smoked, Nvidia tumbles 10% to cap worst week of the year

    A measure of calm was returning after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran spooked the market and spurred a rush to safe havens such as gold.

  • Polish leader tells B.C. audience NATO allies need to spend more on defence

    VANCOUVER — Poland's president says members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Canada, must raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP to deter Russia's war in Ukraine from spreading. Andrzej Duda made the comments at a speech in Vancouver on Friday, a day ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While not saying Canada by name, Duda says the West has "a lot of gaps" in its industrial base to produce military aid for Ukraine in its defence against Russia, a

  • The Office spin-off casts Domhnall Gleeson in lead role

    The Office US spin-off has cast Star Wars actor Domhnall Gleeson in a lead role.

  • Singer Luke Bryan reveals why he always has red eyes and it’s not why most people think

    ‘If I do interviews and I look like I’ve been smoking pot, that’s not true,’ Bryan says

  • Breaking: 2 juveniles, 3 adults shot in Greenbelt

    As many as five people who were part of a large gathering at a Greenbelt park were shot Friday afternoon, police said. Greenbelt police said at least 500 young adults were gathered in the Bowie area on "senior skip day" and were told to disperse. Much of the group moved to a park in the 6900 block of Hanover Parkway in Greenbelt. Police said officers were monitoring, but no illegal activity was going on before officers heard gunshots. Five people were shot, including two juveniles and three adults. Police said the adults may have been 18-year-olds.

  • Budget has 'bits and pieces' for the region: Melillo

    The 2024-25 federal budget is a plan to “unlock the door to the middle class for more Canadians – and renew the promise of our great country,” according to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Kenora’s Conservative MP offered a different viewpoint Wednesday, saying the budget “keeps taxes high, builds bureaucracy instead of homes, and increases spending.” The budget that Freeland introduced in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon is “a classic NDP-Liberal budget,” Melillo said in a Zoom inte

  • Lululemon to shutter Washington distribution center, lay off 128 employees

    The Vancouver-based firm will shutter the Sumner distribution center as part of its business optimization effort and cut 128 jobs beginning June 21, according to a WARN notice filed with the state's Employment Security Department. The move comes at a time when Lululemon is seeing slowing demand for its premium athleisure in North America, where excessive inventory levels at sporting retailers has resulted in lower orders for sportswear and apparel firms. The lease for the company's 150,000-square-foot Sumner distribution center will end on July 2025, a regulatory filing showed.

  • Tatamagouche residents worry about loss of green space as province plans to build housing

    Some residents of Tatamagouche, N.S., say they are worried about losing a large green space in the Colchester County community as the province prepares to create more housing for health-care workers in the area.The green space that sits near the local school, library and the Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital has been a gathering place for social events and sports for more than 50 years.Erin Pope, a longtime resident who works as a nurse at the local hospital, said she's upset the province is repo

  • Nanny on TikTok reveals the awful things parents say to her at work

    ‘I was floored,’ nanny says

  • US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P tumble as Netflix, chip stocks drag; AmEx boosts Dow

    The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended lower on Friday as Netflix shares weighed, but American Express kept the Dow afloat after quarterly earnings from both companies, while growing pessimism that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon also dented sentiment. Netflix slumped as one of the bigger drags on the benchmark S&P index and Nasdaq after the video streaming company's second-quarter revenue view fell short of analysts' expectations while the company also unexpectedly said it would no longer provide subscriber counts.

  • Jodie Foster says she's 'happier than I've ever been'

    Jodie Foster leaves her mark in cement while being honored at hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre on her 10-year wedding anniversary. (April 19)