Will Heath/NBC
Woody Harrelson divided Saturday Night Live viewers over his monologue as the actor hosted the NBC sketch show for the fifth season.
The True Detective graduate took the stage and made remarks demanding mandates over the Covid vaccine.
“The biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy out all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes and the only way people can get out is if they take the cartel drugs and keep taking them and again and again,” Harrelson said of an alleged script he had read.
Harrelson’s punch line followed, with the presenter adding, “I threw away the script. I mean who is going to believe this crazy idea? Being forced to take drugs? I do that voluntarily all day.”
The actor ended the joke by saying he didn’t need a mandate to take the drugs the cartels forced him to take.
In the past, Harrelson has called out the government and drug companies who are profiting from the Covid pandemic, and many on social media assumed his SNL monologue was another of those cases.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk called Harrelson’s monologue “good” as debate was sparked on social media after the late-night show aired.
In another tweet, Musk congratulated the NBC show tweet, “So based. Nice job @nbcsnl!”
When the media covered Harrelson’s monologue, social media users who are conspiracy theorists began to take notice, with Musk responding to one user who said, “Maybe they don’t realize their propaganda is wrong?”
Another user pointed to the headlines that Harrelson was spreading anti-vax conspiracies that Musk replied with a target emoji.
Although Musk liked Harrelson’s monologue, other users expressed opposing views.
“It’s such an incredibly selfish and privileged position, the anti-vax, anti-lockdown, covid conspiracy. Woody Harrelson and those who support such Bs can only do so because they are okay themselves,” one Twitter user divided. “No one who has suffered from Covid or lost loved ones speaks like that.”
Author and television writer Lee Goldberg, whose credits include The Glades and Psych, shared his thoughts on Twitter.
“Thanks @nbcsnl for Woody Harrelson’s stale anti-vax monologue. Who’s going to have innkeeper next week, Scott Baio? Rob Schneider? Kevin Sorbo? Maybe load Kanye back while you’re at it,” he shared.
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Thank you very much, @nbcsnl, for Woody Harrelson’s bland anti-vax monologue. Who’s going to have innkeeper next week, Scott Baio? Rob Schneider? Kevin Sorbo? Maybe load Kanye back while you’re at it.
— Lee Goldberg (@LeeGoldberg) February 26, 2023
Comedian and TV writer Ashley Ray too tweeted Her view says “Rant makes it sound like he happened to have done it without permission when this definitely sounds like something written on cue cards.”
iHeartRadio host Jerry Houston tweeted, “Woody Harrelson ~actually~ admitted to being a drugged redneck. He said that physically just before he started spreading his anti-vax message… and yet these people are now foaming at the mouth like he’s an expert? wow ok.”
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Woody Harrelson ~actually~ admitted to being a drugged hillbilly. He said that physically just before he started spreading his anti-vax message… and yet these people are now foaming at the mouth like he’s an expert? 😂😂😂 wow ok
— Jerry Houston 🎙🏳️🌈 (@radiohouston) February 26, 2023