SNL Takes Brutal Swipe At Prince Harry & Meghan Markle And Uses Trump As The Knife

President Donald Trump is begrudgingly accustomed to being mocked and taking hits on "Saturday Night Live." Actors including Alec Baldwin and James Austin Johnson have given their own unflattering, orange-faced impersonations of the commander in chief in skits exaggerating his boundless ego and outrageous acts, including a "White Lotus" parody that mocked President Trump's most embarrassing and vulnerable habit. During the May 10, 2025 episode, President Trump was used as the vessel for a joke's delivery, rather than the punchline. Instead, British royals Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were the personalities being lampooned.

During the show's Weekend Update segment, co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost poked fun at recent headlines including Pope Leo XIV's election and President Trump's interest in reopening Alcatraz. The faux newscast also addressed US-British relations, and thus opened the door for the royals to be joked about. "President [Donald] Trump also announced a new trade deal with the UK that will reopen British markets for American companies," Jost said in a clip uploaded to YouTube on May 12, 2025. "All that Britain demands in return is that we keep these two." The two in question were the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were pictured on screen following Jost's line. The bit sent a clear message to Harry and Meghan, not just regarding some Americans' opinions of them, but also about their perceivably poor standing with Britain and the royal family, despite their supposed desire to make a "Team Sussex" comeback.

Though not as commonly as President Donald Trump, Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have also been targeted on "Saturday Night Live." Comedians Mikey Day and Cecily Strong gave exaggerated renditions of the royal couple in a May 2018 skit posted on YouTube which satirized their royal wedding reception. Day reprised his role over a year later in an April 2019 royal baby shower bit which was also uploaded to YouTube. Both sketches primarily followed Prince Harry introducing guests in an "MTV Cribs" format, from expected attendees like King Charles III and Prince William, to more outlandish visitors like the late Queen front-man Freddie Mercury and the royal's fictional Auntie Creepy.

If they ever caught wind of the joke, Harry and Meghan, who've developed polarizing reputations, could very well brush it off as harmless ridicule. However, some X users thought the joke was a bad look for the couple, and was perhaps a sign that the American public wants them to go back across the pond. "#HarryandMeghan have made it to the butt of jokes on #SNL and not a moment too soon," one X user wrote. "The one slight problem is that the US doesn't want them either."