Ahead of the WNBA draft in Brooklyn on Monday night, Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.
But it wasn’t just any appearance for the basketball player, who earlier this month wrapped a storied college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
She appeared on SNL (which was hosted this week by Ryan Gosling) to address Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che’s repeated jokes about women’s basketball.
After Michael made a joke that the Hawkeyes would retire Caitlin’s jersey and replace it with an apron, Caitlin was brought out with Michael noting that he was a fan of hers.
“Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said. “You make a lot of jokes about women’s sports, don’t you, Michael?”
Michael’s Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost then introduced a video clip of times when Michael made women’s basketball jokes on the show. After Michael noted that Caitlin is a “great” basketball player and he can’t play like her, she said, “Ya, we know. And, obviously, I can’t tell jokes like you do.”
Caitlin then proceeded to have Michael read jokes she’d written, like “The Indiana Fever have the first pick in this Monday’s draft…a reminder that Indiana Fever is a WNBA team and not what Michael Che gave to dozens of women at Purdue University.”
And, “Netflix’s top new show is Ripley, featuring an eerie, unsettling performance by actor Andrew Scott. Critics say it’s the hardest thing to watch on Netflix since Michael Che’s special, Shame the Devil.”
And, finally, “This year Caitlin Clark broke the record for three-pointers in a single season, and I have three pointers for Michael Che: 1) Be, 2) Funnier, 3) Dumbass.”
Caitlin then shouted out WNBA greats Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Dawn Staley, and Maya Moore. “These are the women that kicked down the door, so I could walk inside. So I want to thank them tonight for laying the foundation,” she said.
Caitlin then ended her appearance by presenting Michael with a signed apron.
Following her SNL appearance, Caitlin told Today in an interview that aired Monday that preparing for SNL was more daunting than preparing for the National Championship game.
“It’s not even close,” she said. “My heart was pounding out of my chest, but I did alright. It was super cool. Obviously, to be a surprise guest, like, that’s a bucket list item that not a lot of people get to do.”
On Sunday on the Writers Guild Awards red carpet, cast member Bowen Yang praised Caitlin’s SNL appearance. “She’s so charming and witty,” he told People.
Notably, Caitlin’s teammates Jada Gyamfi, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall all came to the show with her and appeared in the show’s sign-off. “They were just the most stunning, noble people,” Bowen added.