(L-R) Sarah Sherman as Peanut the Squirrel’s Widow and anchor Colin Jost during Weekend Update on Saturday, November 16, 2024
“Saturday Night Live” tackled the controversy over Peanut the squirrel’s death.
Peanut was an Instagram-famous squirrel who was euthanized last month after he and a raccoon named Fred were confiscated from their owner’s home following several anonymous complaints to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
In a “Weekend Update” appearance, cast member Sarah Sherman took on the role of Peanut’s widow to share her thoughts on his untimely death. Dressed from head to tail in a realistic squirrel costume, Sherman’s squirrelly look was accented with a black woven shawl and pill box hat as she continued to mourn the loss of her husband, Peanut.
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Colin Jost thanked Sherman for being there, referring to her as Mrs. Nut before she insisted that he just simply call her Hazel.
Jost asked Sherman how she was handling Peanut's death, causing her to open up about how hard it was to be “thrust in the media spotlight.”
“I’m used to doing regular squirrel stuff, like chasing my own tail or running into the middle of a street, seeing a car, and then,” she explained, before she started to panic and shake and then froze and stared straight ahead.
Sherman recalled the day that she and Peanut had first met, sharing that she was minding her own business near a tree as she was “sqwerking.”
When Jost questioned the act, Sherman explained, “It’s when a squirrel shakes their entire body to attract a mate like this.” She then demonstrated the act by standing up and shaking her body uncontrollably as she panted.
Jost pointed out that she “looked a little nuts,” which caused her to freak out and yell, “Nuts? Where?” before shaking violently again in excitement.
When prompted by Jost to share more about Peanut’s demise, Sherman explained, “Well, the cops raided our house and then Peanut bit one like a damn hero.”
“Anyways, then they abducted Peanut and chopped his head off in a rabies test, that’s how they really test for rabies, Colin,” Sherman added.
Jost tried to provide comfort to Sherman during her time of mourning, expressing that he hoped she could find closure and move on after Peanut’s death.
“Oh, what life? I’m a widow at four, Colin,” Sherman said. “I’m so old, that the only person that wants to hit it is Jake Paul.”
Sherman said that she couldn’t take it anymore and was “going nuts” before responding to herself, “Nuts? Where?” which sent her into another tizzy.
Charli XCX returned to “SNL” on Nov. 16, this time taking on double duty.
This marked the singer's first time hosting the late night sketch comedy show and third time as musical guest, performing two songs from her hit album “Brat,” including “360,” which was introduced by Julia Fox who is also name-dropped in the song, and “Sympathy is a knife.”
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