SNL 10 Oct: Jost's Hegseth mocks USS Abraham Lincoln homecoming; Gillis monologue panned

Saturday Night Live's 10 October cold open had Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth welcoming home the USS Abraham Lincoln crew, while Shane Gillis hosted for a third time. Variety called his monologue a flop.

4 outlets · 3L · 1C · 0R

First reported about 2 hours ago Account updated about 1 hour ago

Image: Variety

Image: Deadline

Image: The Hollywood Reporter

Image: Rolling Stone

1 / 4

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Saturday Night Live opened its 10 October episode with Colin Jost, again playing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, welcoming home the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Left · 2The sketch mocked reports of poor conditions aboard the carrier; Jost's Hegseth said "Only eight of you attempted suicide. Two of you since I started talking," and praised "zero working toilets." Mixed · 2Hegseth also announced a televised execution and said that if the prisoner survived the firing squad, he would have to fight Jake Paul; Deadline said the Pentagon had confirmed plans to stream the December execution of Nidal Hassan.

Left · 1Variety reported that the sketch also featured James Austin Johnson as RFK Jr. and a joke about the Department of War's new eagle logo, which has drawn comparisons to Nazi imagery. Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter noted Hegseth's line that San Diego is a city "the president just asked Iran to blow up," tying it to remarks by President Trump at a Nebraska rally, where he said Iran could "take out" Los Angeles or San Diego. Left · 3The real ship returned to San Diego two days earlier after a deployment supporting the US war against Iran, with reports of supply shortages, broken plumbing and eight suicide attempts; Variety and Deadline give the deployment as 322 days, while The Hollywood Reporter says 321.

Left · 1Variety said Hegseth visited the ship on Wednesday, presented the Presidential Unit Citation and acknowledged personally approving two extensions of its deployment. Left · 2Shane Gillis hosted for the third time since being fired as a cast member in 2019 over resurfaced racist and homophobic remarks, with Rosalía as musical guest. Left · 1Variety's Marlow Stern said Gillis bombed his monologue, which covered weight, gyms, women's clothing and a joke that his hairline resembled Hitler's ("You’re either gay or you’re Hitler"), drawing groans and "few laughs."

Left · 2Variety added that Lorne Michaels has said NBC executives forced him to fire Gillis in 2019, and that Gillis also bombed his first monologue in 2024. The Hollywood Reporter said Inde Navarrette hosts next, for a Halloween episode.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left3 outlets

Framing: Variety treats the cold open as satire of real Trump administration controversies and judges Gillis's monologue a failure; THR summarises the opener with political context.
Emphasis: Real-world context (ship conditions, Iran war, Trump remarks) and Gillis's controversial history.
Leaves out or plays down: Neither mentions Deadline's detail that the Pentagon named Nidal Hassan as the planned execution.
Charged language: “Bombs”“botched”
For example: “nailing an “SNL” monologue seems to be elusive for him.” — Variety

““Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said.” — The Hollywood Reporter

Centre1 outlet

Framing: Deadline gives a short report on the opener, focused on the live-execution joke and linking it to the Pentagon's real plans.
Emphasis: The execution plan and the ship's 322 days at sea.
Leaves out or plays down: Does not cover the Gillis monologue or the RFK Jr. segment.
Charged language: “Overcompensating”“beleaguered”
For example: “the Pentagon confirmed plans to stream the December execution of Nidal Hassan” — Deadline