There’s a long tradition of celebrities using their Saturday Night Live appearances to make political statements, and an even longer tradition of celebrities being banned from the show for that very reason. (Remember when Sinead O’Connor ripped up that picture of the Pope?) One imagines that even for a certified Famous Hottie, getting up on that stage and speaking truth to power would be daunting—but that’s exactly what comedian Ramy Youssef did during his hosting gig on Saturday, delivering a monologue that was perfectly balanced between genuinely solid jokes and an impassioned, timely plea for peace in Gaza.
“I got a friend Ahmed calling me. His whole family is in Gaza, and he goes, ‘Ramy, they’re suffering. I don’t know where half of them are. I don’t know what to do. Please pray for them. It’s the only thing we can do.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I got you,’” Youssef said in his monologue. “So that night, I go to pray, and my prayers are complicated. I’ve got a lot to fit in. I’m like, ‘God, please, please help Achmed’s family. Please stop the suffering. Stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine, please. Please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please.’”
Yet his monologue wasn’t only that: While Youssef’s comments about Palestine were clearly heartfelt and genuine, that anecdote ends with a joke about his buddy Brian’s dog. (And, leading up to it, there are references to—among other things—Ramadan, Michigan vape shops, wanting a trans woman for president, and Uber drivers.) He deftly manages to toe the line between comedy and politics without making light of a humanitarian crisis or sacrificing a good punchline. (SNL is a late-night variety show, after all.) But he’s well practiced at this by now: Youssef’s most recent stand-up special, More Feelings, is an hourlong master class in this same kind of stage work, expanding on the themes of faith, loss, love, political anguish and Arab American identity that Youssef touched on on SNL.
Youssef isn’t the first celebrity to use their public platform to call for a ceasefire or increased aid in Gaza, where the death toll now far exceeds 30,000. At the Oscars last month, Youssef and celebrities including Billie Eilish and Ava DuVernay wore red pins representing Artists4Ceasefire, identified as a group of artists and advocates “witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.” Still, in a grim political moment that just keeps getting more contentious, watching Youssef—a practicing Muslim born to Egyptian parents in Queens, New York—making a case for peace is a reminder that daring to speak up is always, always worth it. (At the risk of trivializing Youssef’s words, it’s also extremely crush-worthy. What can I say? People who stand for something are just hotter.)
