SNL Season – Saturday Night Live closed its Season 51 run with a grim cold open: Will Ferrell appeared as a chained Jeffrey Epstein ghost haunting Donald Trump in the Oval Office, trading dark jokes about heaven, high-fives, and the administration’s future before ending on
“Saturday Night Live” didn’t slow down for its Season 51 finale.
The show opened with a brutally dark sketch featuring Will Ferrell as the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein. who appeared to haunt Donald Trump inside the Oval Office.. The cold open began with cast member James Austin Johnson portraying Trump. who drifted off to sleep behind the Resolute Desk before being startled by Ferrell’s chained-up Epstein apparition.
Ferrell’s version of the disgraced financier joked that he had returned to visit his “best friend. ” while Johnson’s Trump reacted with excitement before complaining about sinking approval numbers.. The sketch leaned hard into edgy humor, with Trump asking Epstein what heaven was like.. Ferrell’s Epstein snapped back, “It’s really, really hot.”
Johnson’s Trump then rambled about upcoming plans. including attending The World Cup. hosting bizarre “Patriot Games” for high school students. and staging a UFC fight on the White House lawn “like white trash on Worldstar.” The darkest joke came when Trump—still portrayed by Johnson—asked for a high-five. only for Epstein to answer. “You know what. this time. I’m going to leave you hanging. ” a line tied to Epstein’s death in jail.
The bit escalated as Epstein shared surreal “visions” of the administration’s future. including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem selling products on the Home Shopping Network and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth smoking marijuana during a podcast appearance with FBI Director Kash Patel.. After all the bizarre turns. Ferrell’s Epstein eventually turned serious for one final jab. warning Trump that no matter what distractions unfold politically. the public would never stop linking the two together.
The sketch ended with Ferrell and Johnson breaking into a parody duet of Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us,” closing out what was described as one of the show’s most provocative season openers in recent memory.
Saturday Night Live SNL Will Ferrell James Austin Johnson Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein cold open Oval Office Kristi Noem Pete Hegseth Kash Patel “Just the Two of Us” Grover Washington Jr. Bill Withers The World Cup Patriot Games UFC Home Shopping Network Season 51 finale