Fresh off this week’s inauguration, Barack Obama got the "Saturday Night Live" treatment in a politically charged episode filled with superstar cameos.
While lounging in the oval office on inauguration night, the commander in chief (Jay Pharoah) was shocked when the ghost of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Kenan Thompson) appeared in a flash of smoke. Obama asked King if he'd lived up to the promise of the slain civil rights leader's legacy, but MLK seemed more intrigued with today’s pop culture.
“We'll get to all of that. But first things first. Did you see that girl Beyonce?” King said. “Raquel Welch was beautiful. Beyonce is like, Daaaaamn. I had to keep pinching myself. I thought I was having another one of my famous dreams.”
He noted that "Access Hollywood" had said she was lip syncing. "And I was like, 'and I care why -- hashtag Jay-Z is one lucky man.'"
Obama tried to steer the conversation back to more important issues, though Dr. King still had unanswered questions about the first lady.
"Speaking of change, what's up with Michelle's bangs?" he said. "What, is she guest starring on the 'New Girl?'"
King couldn’t stay too long. He said he had to stop by Cornel West’s house and tell him to turn it down “about 30 notches.”
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The show then bounced off politics during first-time host Adam Levine’s monologue. Obviously new to acting, Levine got some help from "SNL" veteran Andy Samberg, Cameron Diaz and Jerry Seinfeld as the segment quickly turned to “The Voice,” but for aspiring actors.
"When it comes to your comedy, be smart, be clever, be one step ahead of the audience," Seinfeld said. "That's where you use your Jewishness. Never rub their nose in how you're one step ahead of them. And that goes for all Jews, by the way."
He also urged Levine not to take his shirt off -- but the Maroon 5 frontman did so anyway.
Later, “Weekend Update” with Seth Meyers also discussed the Obama inauguration, and touched on the ongoing tension within the Republican Party and the Manti Te’o scandal as well. Earlier this week, it was reported that while Te’o believed he was on the phone with his “girlfriend,” he may have been speaking to the hoax’s creator, who was using a falsetto voice.
“I don’t know if this is even possible,” Meyers said. “But Manti Te’o may be too dumb to play football.”
“Weekend Update” guest Arianna Huffington (Nasim Pedrad) returned to discuss Hillary Clinton’s combative appearance before Congress this week.
While hitting on Meyers, as she often does, Huffington said she liked Clinton’s chances in 2016.
“She’s even polling high among women," she said. "And no one hates women more than other women.”
The Huffington Post founder also had plenty to say about Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s decision to allow women in combat. She noted that women are already killing men "left and right" on Investigation Discovery shows like "Wives with Knives."
“For women, fighting in combat is like having orgasms,” she said. “We’ve been doing it for ever, but you fellas are just now finding out about it.”
Vice President Joe Biden didn't escape spoofing either on inauguration week. Jason Sudeikis reprised his veep role to promote a "Biden Bash" in Delaware. He said in a promo that the bash includes a kung fu exhibition and speech where he "lets the GOP have it" in the style of Macho Man Randy Savage.
This week’s musical guest was hip-hop sensation Kendrick Lamar.
