Saturday Night Live has been on a holiday hiatus since mid-December. The long-running sketch comedy show returned Saturday, January 15, for its first episode of 2022, with host West Side Story star Ariana DeBose and musical guest Bleachers, who replaced rapper Roddy Ricch after one of the members on his team was exposed to COVID-19. The first sketch of the night addressed what's on everyone's minds, the rising number of COVID-19 cases due to the contagiousness of the new Omicron variant. During the cold open, SNL freshman James Austin Johnson's Joe Biden holds a fictional White House press briefing to give public health advice about the rising number of COVID-19 cases with the Omicron variant: "Stop seeing Spider-Man. Just stop seeing Spider-Man."
Before SNL's holiday break, multiple COVID-related issues impacted the show, leaving things in a pretty weird place. In New York City, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant forced the show to change plans for its Christmas episode set to air on December 18. After sending most of the cast and crew home due to the rising rates of COVID-19, the special was essentially canceled. Instead of the usual fanfare, Paul Rudd, who joined the five-timers club, hosted the show in front of no audience, introducing pre-taped digital shorts and holiday sketches.
Michael Che and Kenan Thompson were the only two cast members to make an appearance. Then, there were special guest appearances from Tina Fey and Tom Hanks.
Message from the President to "Stop seeing Spider-Man!"
When SNL came back this week, its cold open had a suggestion as to why the COVID-19 situation has surged in the United States in the past month, and it's not holiday travel. Unless, a trip to the movie theater counts as holiday travel. According to the fictional version of President Joe Biden, the massive box office success of Spider-Man: No Way Home is responsible for the rapid spread of Omicron. He points out:
"When did Spider-Man come out? December 17th. When did every single person get Omicron? The week after December 17th. That’s really all I have to say; I yield the remainder of my time to questions."
As each White House staff reporter asks about other ways to combat rising COVID-19 rates, the fictional POTUS retorts that the box office success of No Way Home is the culprit. To date, No Way Home has grossed $1.55 billion globally, making it the eighth-highest grossing film of all time. Considering it's not that safe to go to a movie theater with rising rates of COVID-19, would your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man really disagree?
Although movie theaters are taking many precautions during the pandemic, there are still reasons to take precautions when seeing a movie, especially with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Unlike outdoor spaces, movie theaters have seats that are close together, which make it hard to socially distance; and low ceilings and poor ventilation, which make it easier for the incredibly contagious virus to spread. With 60 percent of Americans having an underlying medical condition that puts them at risk of severe COVID-19 illness, it's fair to guess that the champion of the Little Guy would probably sign off on an Executive Order from POTUS decreeing, "Stop seeing Spider-Man!" Well, if it would save the lives of disabled and high-risk citizens of Marvel Multiverse.
For non-high risk Web-heads, medical professionals and public health experts have some advice about how to decide if it's safe to see No Way Home on the big screen. Movie theaters are probably OK if the individual is vaccinated and has a mask on, but it's hard to know who’s vaccinated, and who’s sick. A public health expert adds that when a person is not talking, it greatly reduces the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. Colorado School of Public Health at Colorado State University professor John Volckens told Salon.com,
"Nothing is absolutely safe, but what I will say is that if you're just breathing and not talking, you have made about 10 times fewer particles. And so being in a crowded space of other people being quiet, like a library or a theater is much less risky than being in a bar where everyone is talking or shouting to each other."
Watch the cold open for Saturday Night Live here:
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now in theaters.