'SNL' kicked off the night poking fun at Newsmax's outrage over 'Sesame Street' and vaccine mandates.
Saturday Night Live took comedic aim at Ted Cruz's recent anti-Sesame Street rant in this week's cold open.
Aidy Bryant reprised her celebrated impression on the Republican senator for special conservative reboot of Sesame Street called Ted Cruz Street.
The far-right take on the children's education series served as an impression showcase, with cast members playing bizarre versions of beloved characters as well as outspoken GOP members.
Between Cecily Strong's Marjorie Taylor Greene brandishing an assault rifle around kids to Kyle Mooney playing a molting Big Bird espousing anti-vax rhetoric, fans were also treated to a bald Pete Davidson delivering a brooding impression of Joe Rogan.
"I used to host Fear Factor, and now doctors fear me," Davidson's Rogan said, handing over some "zinc, protein and ayahuasca" to Big Bird, claiming it will treat his COVID.
The roast of Cruz comes a few weeks after the Texas senator attacked Sesame Street on Twitter, after the real Big Bird announced he'd gotten vaccinated.
At the time, Cruz took to Twitter to bemoan that Sesame Street is "government propaganda … for your five year old!"
On Ted Cruz Street, Bryant's Cruz addressed the tweets, explaining, "As you know, I was mocked for attacking Big Bird on Twitter, simply because I am a human senator and he is an eight foot tall fictional bird."
The sketch ended with Cruz introducing the word of the day: "Freedom." This proved to be the cue for Chloe Fineman's Britney Spears, celebrating her newfound freedom from her conservatorship.
The cold open introduced Jonathan Majors' SNL hosting debut, as well as Taylor Swift's spotlight-stealing 10-minute performance of "All Too Well."
Saturday Night Live airs live, coast-to-coast at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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