Kevin Hart's SNL Pope Skit Draws Mixed Reactions
Kevin Hart, the 32-year-old comedian and host, recently received mixed reactions when he portrayed 9-year-old Oscar nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis as the world's newest Pope on Saturday Night Live.
Hart hosted the sketch comedy show on March 2 and starred in a skit showcasing Pope Benedict XVI's successor. After Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation last month, Hart decided to give the world a glimpse of a groundbreaking person to succeed the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The comedian dressed up as Wallis, the young actress who recently starred in "Beasts of the Southern Wild," to accept the position as Pope. He also spoke in a butchered Latin language and did popular dances like "the dougie."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Who the man? I'm the man," Pope Quvenzhane said in Latin on the sketch comedy show.
The scene took place as comedian Jason Sudeikis' portrayed journalist and TV anchor Wolf Blitzer in his show, "The Situation Room."
"I don't think anyone saw this coming," Sudeikis said on the show.
One reporter that the fictitious Blitzer spoke to described the scene, where the 9-year-old Pope was surrounded by cardinals.
"Quvenzhane Wallis, of course, the first African American, the first female and first child Pope," the reporter explained in the skit.
However, Sudeikis also seemed to make a dig at the Catholic church when Hart hopped on the back of one of the fictitious Cardinals for a game of horseback riding.
"Horsey rides in the vatican," the fake Blitzer said on the show. "It's gotta be a first, but probably isn't."
A number of people took to social media networks like Twitter to react to the SNL skit.
"#POPE #SNL @nbcsnl @KevinHart4real wrong for it...LOL," one person tweeted.
Another individual thought the SNL skit was funny tweeting, "Dying laughing at Kevin Hart on #SNL right now as the pope doing the dougie!!!"
Still, Hart's portrayal of the pope did not sit well with others.
"Tasteless and so not funny," another person tweeted.
