Bowen Yang criticized for mocking Chappell Roan weeks before her SNL debut

Saturday Night Live had a lot of pop culture to catch up on in its season 50 premiere. There was the election, and the unveiling of which celebrities are playing which politicians, as well as the fact that the show is celebrating five decades on the air.

The most controversial sketch of the premiere, however, seemingly came out of nowhere. Bowen Yang appeared on Weekend Update dressed like Moo Deng, a baby hippo that has gone viral on social media. While it initially seemed like a one note bit, Yang surprised viewers by drawing some parallels between Moo Deng and Chappell Roan.

Bowen Yang referenced Roan during Weekend Update

The singer recently made headlines for trying to draw boundaries between her and her fans, and Yang decided to depict Moo Deng as someone "struggling" with fame on a similar scale. It did not go over incredibly well.

For one, Chappell Roan fans felt like Yang and SNL were mocking the singer for trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy in her life. Then there's fact that Roan is slated to make her SNL debut as a musical guest on November 2. Awkward.

The pushback was immediate. So immediate, in fact, that Bowen Yang felt the need to issue a statement clarifying his intent and his opinion on Chappell Roan. The comedian reposted a Variety headline calling him out "mocking" Roan, and he made it clear he was annoyed:

"Oh geez. Mocks???. If my personal stance and this piece aren’t absolutely clear in terms of supporting her then there it is I guess."

Yang supported Chappell Roan's recent comments

Yang simply stated that he decided to link two pop culture events together for the sake of a laugh, and that fans took the Chappell Roan jokes far too seriously. He also supported her desire for privacy. "Everything she has ever asked for has been reasonable," he added. "And even then we can connect it to another story about boundaries or whatever. Needing the hose rn…"

Roan has yet to comment on the sketch. Given her proximity to SNL in the coming weeks, though, we imagine somebody will say something about it. Maybe there's even a chance for a promo in which her and Yang address the elephant (or baby hippo, rather) in the room.