Bowen Yang stunned the hosts of The View when he called JD Vance a “pope killer” during his Thursday appearance on the show.
The Saturday Night Live star was there to promote his new film The Wedding Banquet, but was asked about several hot topics surrounding SNL—one of which was his apprehension about playing the vice president.
“I just thought there would be better people for it,” he told co-host Sara Haines. It was his “imposter syndrome” that made him publicly plead for SNL boss Lorne Michaels to choose someone else, he explained, but “it works.”
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The hosts agreed it’s a hard role to pin down but told him he “nailed it.” Then Yang stunned the table with his next comment: “I mean, look, the guy’s a pope killer,” he said looking directly at the camera as the both the hosts and audience screamed with a mixture of shock and delight.
The vice president was one of the last leaders to meet with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday before his death less than 24 hours later. The internet erupted with memes and quips aimed at Vance, who reportedly told the Pope during their brief 20-minute meeting that “It’s good to see you in better health.”
Wrote one X user, “See how Vance lies??? He said you look healthy and then the pope died the next day.”
Yang, notoriously locked in to the internet’s chatter, brought it national television Thursday with his comment, which stunned every host into uncontrollable laughter or silence.
Whoopi Goldberg just looked out at the audience during the studio-wide reaction before agreeing, “Someone had to say it.” Yang co-signed that, while Joy Behar seemingly tried to shield him from the incoming backlash: “He doesn’t mean it literally.”
Yang cheekily agreed that he meant it “spiritually.” Hostin added, nervously, “It’s just comedy.”
Haines—to whom Yang had just suggested any rumors he was leaving SNL were only because someone was “trying to glean a headline”—piped in with, “There’s our new headline!”
