John Mulaney mocks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in SNL monologue

John Mulaney mocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his opening monologue Saturday as he hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for the seventh time.

Mediaite reported that Kennedy occupied more than a third of the nine-minute monologue. Mulaney wrote for SNL from 2008 to 2013 and created Stefon with Bill Hader.

"No one likes him. You dumbass … your thing can't be the measles!" Mulaney said in his own voice.

Mulaney said some right-wing friends "used to be down with him," and he had known Kennedy for over a decade. "You shouldn't be in the government if I've known you for over a decade. I know some wack a** people," Mulaney said.

He arrived at Kennedy through a joke about his young son's friends, saying there is always one child with a very scratchy voice. Mulaney imitated that voice before shifting into an impression of Kennedy. According to the Detroit Free Press, Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological speech disorder that causes involuntary spasms.

"My father was a good man and I'm a lousy man but I have same name. Am I good if I have same name as father? No, please, let me be in charge of your bones and your tummy," Mulaney said as Kennedy.

"Robitussin when taken during menstruation will cause telekinesis. This is clear from the pamphlets in my rental car," he said in the impression.

Mulaney said he once performed comedy at benefits for Riverkeeper, a nonprofit where Kennedy worked that seeks to keep the Hudson River clean.

Kennedy left him a voicemail of thanks after one year's benefit, Mulaney said. "I got butt-dialed by the mom from 'Goonies'!" Mulaney recalled exclaiming.

"His old job was keeping the Hudson River, whose native fish is tied-off used condom, clean. Now he's in charge of all of our tummies," Mulaney said. He joked that Kennedy, formerly an environmental lawyer, "would just join cases late if they were about to be successful."

Mulaney had also mocked Kennedy at the Hollywood Bowl in May, according to the Detroit Free Press, during a performance for the Netflix Is a Joke festival.

John Mulaney's monologue!

— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) November 15, 2026

At the start of the monologue, Mulaney joked that he had concluded his father is autistic, a decision he said explained his childhood. "He doesn't know he's autistic. He'll find out right as this airs," he said.

Michael Che offered his own Kennedy impression on Weekend Update. "Put me in the cast, Lorne!" Che said.

His co-host Colin Jost joked about Friday's Federal Aviation Administration grounding of flights nationwide. "Suddenly, ferry transportation is looking pretty reliable," Jost said.

Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che!

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The cold open brought Bowen Yang back as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, while Mulaney played a CIA official briefing tech CEOs. Jeremy Culhane later played host Chris Gut in a brewery sketch, where he and Mulaney's brewmaster drank IPAs together before the two characters shared several kisses. "We hung out sober one day, and it was like, nothing," said Culhane's character, who concluded the beer was responsible for the attraction.

In another sketch, Mulaney played a plane-crash survivor who tried to present hair-transplant bandages as injuries from the crash. Kam Patterson appeared at the end as former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Phoebe Bridgers was the musical guest. She performed "Bobby," which Entertainment Weekly described as an ode to Bo Burnham.

The show now takes its Thanksgiving break. Amanda Seyfried is scheduled to host the next episode on Dec. 5, with Don Toliver as musical guest.