TV & Movies
Bowen Yang Denies “Mocking” Chappell Roan In Moo Deng SNL Sketch
The comedian faced backlash online.
One of Bowen Yang’s Saturday Night Live skits on Sept. 28 parodied the rising fame of Chappell Roan and viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng, but not everyone found it funny.
During the show’s Season 50 premiere, Yang appeared on the Weekend Update segment in character as Moo Deng, joking that overnight virality had “been overwhelming” and that they’d need to “set some boundaries” with fans. Yang appeared to be referencing Roan, who’s been talking about her struggles with fame recently. Last month, she called out some fans’ “predatory” and “weird” behavior in an Instagram statement.
After the SNL premiere, some fans criticized the sketch, saying it was “mocking” the singer’s experiences.
On Sept. 29, Yang responded to the pushback on his Instagram Stories. “Oh geeez. ‘Mocks’?” he wrote. “If my personal stance and the piece aren’t absolutely clear in terms of supporting her, then there it is, I guess.” (He was referring to a recent Interview Magazine sit-down with the singer.)
Yang continued, “Everything she has ever asked for has been reasonable, and even then we can connect it to another story about boundaries or whatever. Needing the hose rn.”
Chappell’s Struggle With Fame
As the singer’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, increased in popularity this past year, so did Roan’s notoriety, and in the past few months, she’s gotten candid about how that change has affected her, particularly regarding invasive fans.
“I’m not afraid of the consequences for demanding respect,” she wrote on Instagram in August. “Now I have to have security. It’s so lame.”
Roan recently told The Face that she’d consider quitting the music industry if fame becomes overwhelming, and she canceled two performances at the All Things Go Music Festival on Sept. 27 to “prioritize” her health.
“Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it,” she wrote in a statement. “I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible.”
