Bowen Yang Weighs in After Criticism He Mocked Chappell Roan with SNL Moo Deng Sketch: I'm 'Supporting Her'

Bowen Yang has no time for his words to be misinterpreted.

On the 50th season premiere Saturday night live On September 28, Yang appeared as Moo Deng, a viral baby pygmy hippopotamus, on Weekend Update, and the skit included Yang’s complaints that were eerily similar to those recently made by Chappell Roan about her privacy amid her skyrocketing fame.

The next day, the comedian, 33, responded to media coverage of the skit on his Instagram stories, dismissing the idea that the show or skit was mocking the singer. “Oh my God,” he wrote over a screenshot of the headline of a newspaper article that read, “SNL It mocks Chappell Roan as Bowen Yang’s Moo Deng against crazy fans.”

“If my personal position and part is not absolutely clear in terms of support, then it is, I guess,” Yang wrote. “Everything she ever asked for was reasonable, and even then we can tie it into another story about boundaries or whatever.”

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During the skit, which saw him dressed in a full hippo outfit to portray Moo Deng, Yang said he was “running around nonstop” because “the response was overwhelming” to his newfound fame.

“But it got to the point where I had to set some boundaries. Reminder: women don’t owe you anything,” he said, drawing a line almost directly from a statement Roan, 26, made in August.

Bowen Yang as Moo Dang the Hippopotamus and Colin Jost over the weekend on Saturday Night Live.

Will Heath/NBC)

Yang told fans, “Don’t shout my name or expect a photo,” while calling Moo Deng “your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo,” another direct comparison to the self-proclaimed “Hot To Go” singer “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” at Coachella this year.

Colin Jost then called Yang out on the comparisons he was making, telling him, “Your life sounds a lot like Chappell Roan lately. Do you know Chappell Roan?” “I’m 10 weeks old, Colin. Of course I know Chappell Roan,” Yang replied, before explicitly stating his stance on the singer’s recent statements.

“And by the way—leave her alone. Let her take the time she needs for her mental health. We both deserve patience and grace, so stop bullying her and stop throwing shells at her.”

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Bowen Yang’s Instagram story.

NBC; Dana Jacobs/WireImage; Bowen Yang/Instagram

The day before SNLOn the Season 50 premiere, Roan made waves again after announcing that she would no longer be performing at both All Things Go Music Festival dates in New York City on September 28th and in Columbia, Maryland on September 29th.

“Things have gotten overwhelming these past few weeks and I’m really feeling it,” she wrote in a post on her Instagram Stories. “Right now I’m feeling pressured to prioritize a lot of things and I need a few days to prioritize my health.”

Chappell Roan performs during the 2024 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 16, 2024 in Manchester, Tennessee.

Erika Goldring/Getty

In recent months, the singer spoke openly about her struggles with her meteoric rise to fame, and in an interview with Face earlier this month, she admitted she “might quit” music “if this ever gets dangerous” after sharing a story about fans at an airport who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“It’s dangerous now, and I’m still going. But that part is not what I signed up for,” she said.

“The atmosphere of this — stalking, talking s— online, [people who] he won’t leave you alone, he yells at you in public — that’s the vibe of an abusive ex-husband. That’s how it feels. I didn’t know she would feel this bad.”

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Saturday night live airs Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET on NBC.

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Source: HIS Education