Saturday Night Live: Kenan Thompsons Bill Cosby Is Loving Prison Life

Saturday Night Live: Kenan Thompsons Bill Cosby Is Loving Prison Life

Last nights S.N.L., hosted by Seth Meyers, did the inevitable and took on Bill Cosby in prison. Kena..

Last nights S.N.L., hosted by Seth Meyers, did the inevitable and took on Bill Cosby in prison. Kenan Thompson played Cosby, the cellmate to Meyers new inmate.

After being convicted in April on three counts of sexual assault—penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant—Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison in September. The sketch finds Thompsons take on the disgraced comedian awaiting Meyers in a luxe jail cell set up, including all his Emmys. This Cosby is absolutely loving life behind bars; the joke is that Cosbys age has made him totally clueless about why hes in jail in the first place. Hes excited about his prison diet—which mainly consists of jello—and shares his, uh, insights about black men in prison and death.

A random cell search unearths Cosbys illegal hoagie and a pet turtle (who he thinks is Quincy Jones), as well as his own belief that “his love of salty foods” landed him in his cell. Meyers has the ultimate deadpan reaction to Cosbys increasing absurdities, eventually telling him to really think about who he is. At one point, Meyers—whom Cosby calls Theo at one point—decides hell take solitary confinement over having to spend another moment with Cosby. The sketch is uncomfortable, though it mostly skirts around addressing what landed Cosby in jail—though there are a few key pauses to let the audience really think about all the damage hes caused.

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.

CATEGORIES
Share This