Bad Bunny returned to Saturday Night Live for its 49th season and brought some A-list friends with him.
The Puerto Rican superstar was on double duty last night as he made his SNL hosting debut and also served as the show’s musical guest. In his bilingual opening monologue, Benito wasted no time in addressing the skeptics who questioned his abilities to carry the show despite not being completely fluent in English.
“People are wondering if I can host this show because English is not my first language,” he said. “I don’t know if they know but I do whatever I want. So I can host this show in English, I can order McDonald’s in English, I can have sex in English. But I prefer sex in Spanish because it’s just better.”
Benito switched gears and spoke some Spanish to shout out to all the Latino people around the world but especially those watching the show from Puerto Rico before he was suddenly interrupted by captions on the screen that said “SPEAKING IN NON-ENGLISH,” referencing a past controversy at the Grammys where his performance wasn’t translated.
To help him out, Bad Bunny brought out his friend Pedro Pascal, SNL hosting alum, to help translate and to offer advice on charming self-deprecating jokes. When Pascal suggested making fun of an unflattering aspect of himself, the rapper quipped that he simply didn’t have any.
Later in the evening, he performed songs from his latest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, including “Un Preview” and “Monaco.”
The episode also featured surprise appearances by music icons Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga, the latter who introduced his first performance in Spanish. Throughout the show, Bad Bunny appeared in various sketches, some of them in drag, portraying characters like a telenovela star, a nun, an overzealous tia (or “aunty” in Spanish), and even a Shrek fan.
Last night’s episode marked Bad Bunny’s third overall appearance on SNL, having been the musical guest in 2021 with host Regé-Jean Page, and appearing in a digital sketch the year prior.
Watch Bad Bunny's SNL opening monologue up top.
