'Punch the monkey' makes an appearance on 'SNL' Weekend Update

Mama Punch also appears to defend herself.
 By 
Chance Townsend
 on 
Two people in a monkey costume
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To close out Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, Colin Jost introduced the night's final guest: Punch the monkey's mom.

Not literally, of course. It was Sarah Sherman, in a bikini-fitted monkey costume, who portrayed the absentee mama as a trailer-trash harlot.

Sherman's "Mama Punch" immediately clarified that she didn’t abandon Punch-kun under tragic circumstances — she simply didn't want him. From there, the segment unfolded exactly how any Sarah Sherman Weekend Update appearance does. She rattled off a résumé of famous primates she's allegedly romanced — King Kong, Curious George — and proudly reminded the audience that she was, in her words, "Harambe’s last meal."

The whole bit felt like a Maury episode produced during a fever dream, or like stumbling onto WWF Raw Is War way too late on a Monday night.

Then Punch-kun himself showed up, played by Marcello Hernández, whose sheer cuteness cracked Sherman immediately. The two hugged. The audience cheered.

Love wins, I guess.

Topics SNL

Headshot of a Black man
Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].


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