Live cold open saw James Austin Johnson returning as Donald Trump, two days before the inauguration, this time talking about the TikTok ban. About an hour before the show aired, TikTok really did go dark as a new U.

"Saturday Night Live" weighed in on the United States' controversial TikTok ban during the show's first episode of 2025 on Jan. 18. Cast member Michael Longfellow issued a late-hour plea during the “Weekend Update" segment, begging for officials to save the Chinese-owned video app from the blackout that was scheduled to begin the following day.

Live cast member Michael Longfellow speaks for the masses in new Weekend Update, asking how we can live without TikTok.

Saturday Night Live returned after a short break, bringing comedian Dave Chappelle in to host. With the second Inauguration of Donald Trump right around the corner, the cold open naturally went with a political skit. This time, the sketch comedy opened with an MSNBC panel hosted by Sarah Sherman’s Rachel Maddow.

In the first 'SNL' episode of 2025, the Cold Open starred Sarah Sherman as Rachel Maddow chatting Trump, TikTok and LA's WildFires

The skit’s premise revolved around MSNBC ’s coverage of inauguration weekend, with Rachel Maddow (played by Sarah Sherman) and other network anchors attempting to concentrate on Trump’s policies. However, they found themselves repeatedly sidetracked by his outrageous proposals and posts on Truth Social.

Dave Chappelle’s nearly-17-minute monologue touched on the Los Angeles wildfires, President Jimmy Carter’s trip to Palestine, Luigi Mangione, the allegations against Diddy, Trump’s debunked claims about Springfield, Ohio.

The company turned off its app for its 170 million US users on Saturday. Users are flocking to other corners of the internet to react.

TikTok restored its US services on Sunday, easing the concerns of content creators who make their living off the platform — at least for now.

TikTok is back online in the US after a last-minute promise from President-elect Trump. But TikTok creators now fear he will lean on the app to serve his own interests, Io Dodds reports

SNL ‘mourns the loss’ of TikTok by mocking users’ reaction to US ban - Latest episode aired as social media app went dark

The Saturday Night Live cold open saw James Austin Johnson returning as Donald Trump, two days before the inauguration, this time talking about the TikTok ban. About an hour before the show aired ...