Comedian Shane Gillis made a surprise appearance in the latest Saturday Night Live, playing Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at a parody NYC mayoral debate.
“I’m thrilled to be here,” Gillis’ Sliwa said in his opening statement, “And not getting shot in the back of a yellow cab five times by the Gottis and Gambinos as I was famously in 1992, 1993, and 1994.”
Sliwa continued, “But I’m the right choice to be your next mayor. No offense to my opponents, Mr. Cuomo and—I believe I’m saying this right—Zoltar Rob Zombie?"
Gillis was hired as a cast member for SNL in 2019, only to be quickly fired after racist jokes and comments he made on his podcast over the years resurfaced.
Although Gillis returned to host the show twice in the years since, his reputation as a right-wing comic bristled some SNL viewers, who might be surprised to see him return to make fun of the only Republican in the NYC mayoral race.
“As you know, my dad was brutally kidnapped and tied to the tracks of the Cyclone at Coney Island,” Gillis’ Sliwa said at one point, adding, “I’m sorry, what was your question?”
When asked what his go-to bagel order was, Sliwa answered, “As you know, in 1982 I had my penis cut off and fed to me by the Yakuza.”
Gillis was joined on stage by Zohran Mamdani, played by comedian (and one-time SNL host) Ramy Youssef.
“I want to be mayor so I can deliver a better New York,” Youssef’s Mamdani said. “Free healthcare, affordable housing, free Wi-Fi. As mayor, can I make that happen? I’m not sure yet. But together we’re going to find out… that the answer is no.”
Meanwhile, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (played by returning host Miles Teller) sold himself to voters by saying, “I got us through COVID and then yadda yadda yadda, honk honk, squeeze squeeze. Anyway, I’m back.”
New cast member Kam Patterson, who played current NYC mayor Eric Adams, joined in the cold open. Adams crashed the debate to officially endorse an uncomfortable Cuomo, saying, “He’s like me: part two.”
Like several cold opens this year, the sketch was crashed by President Donald Trump, once again played by cast member James Austin Johnson.
Trump made fun of Curtis Sliwa’s beret, joking, “I love him, but we’ve got to do something about that Emily in Paris-looking hat, right?”
