SNL Recap: Bowen Yang Plays Hippo Moo Deng, Supports Chappell Roan

If there’s one thing that Bowen Yang can do on Saturday Night Live, it’s steal the show — which he did on the season 50 premiere dressed as Moo Deng.

That’s right, during the Saturday, September 28, season opener, Yang, 33, impersonated the pygmy hippopotamus, whose life in a Thailand zoo went viral on social media earlier this month.

“Stop, stop clapping! Hi Colin [Jost], is it OK if I say something?” Yang, dressed in a hippo costume, began during a “Weekend Update” segment. “For the past 10 weeks, I’ve been going nonstop running around, eating lettuce, trying to bite the water from a hose and the response has been overwhelming. But, it has come to the point where I need to set some boundaries.”

Yang continued, “Reminder: Women owe you nothing. When I’m in my enclosure tripping over stuff, biting my trainer’s knee, I am at work. That is the project. Do not yell my name or expect a photo just because I’m your parasocial bestie or because you appreciate my talent.”

Yang’s Moo Deng further explained that its talent is “having a slippery body that bounces.”

“Colin, before me the only hippos in media were either ‘hungry, hungry’ or Jada Pinkett Smith in Madagascar,” Yang quipped. “But now, I’m your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo — and I’m thirsty thirsty.”

He added, “Trust me, I would not be in this position without my fans … [and] my Moo Deng boo thangs. But, the harassment has been intolerable. Oh my God, they’re throwing shellfish and bananas at me!”

Yang’s comments draw comparisons to pop star Chappell Roan, who has described herself as “your favorite artists’ favorite artists.” Despite Roan’s rampant popularity, she has been vocal about her struggles with fan attention. In a lengthy social media statement shared in August, Roan, 26, noted that she was “scared and tired” of certain “predatory” behaviors whenever she’s not performing on a stage.

Yang’s SNL speech even directly copied parts of Roan’s remarks, which Jost, 42, realized quickly.

“I have to say, Moo Deng, your life sounds a lot like Chappell Roan’s lately,” Jost replied. “Do you know Chappell Roan?”

Yang-as-the-viral-hippo replied that, despite being “10 weeks old,” he was familiar with Roan.

“Of course I know Chappell Roan,” Yang stated. “And, by the way, leave her alone! Let her take as much time as she needs for her mental health. We both deserve patience and grace, so stop harassing her and stop throwing shellfish at her … it’s a matter of time, Colin, this is what society does. It puts young women on pedestals only to knock them down with shellfish.”

Roan, for her part, was scheduled to perform at the All Things Go music festival on Saturday but canceled one day earlier due to mental health struggles. She is later slated to make her SNL debut as the musical guest on the November 2 episode.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.