Dave Chapelle and Donnell Rawlings Bring Chappelle's Show to SNL in "Pop the Balloon"
The parody of Arlette Amuli's viral YouTube series saw the return of Chappelle's smooth character, who also popped up in 2022's "House of the Dragon" sketch.
It was a Chappelle's Show revival in Saturday Night Live's final sketch of the night on January 18, "Pop the Balloon."
Comedian Dave Chappelle's fourth time hosting SNL brought yet another appearance from his Silky Johnson character from his Comedy Central series' "The Playa Haters' Ball" sketch — as well as cast mate Donnell Rawlings' characters Beautiful and Ashy Larry. "Pop the Balloon" also featured a cameo from Musical Guest GloRilla, playing a bachelorette who gets into it with Silky.
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SNL's "Pop the Balloon" parodies a real hit YouTube series
Cast member Ego Nwodim impersonates real YouTuber Arlette Amuli, who created "Pop the Balloon or Find Love" with her husband Bolia Matundu. The dating game in the sketch is identical to Amuli's IRL version: a row of young singles meet a prospective match, and pop their balloon the moment they're not feeling it.
A nice-seeming guy named Phil (Andrew Dismukes) gets an across-the-board pop, save for one woman (Sarah Sherman) who likes that he'll "let me cheat on him." The participants' questionable romantic decisions continue to unfold as they meet two more contestants (Devon Walker and Kenan Thompson), and then a new contender takes the stage.
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"Sweet day and salutations, ladies. My name is Silky Johnson," Chappelle's red-clad character tells them. "A little bit about me: I'm a purveyor of precious goods and services, i.e. b-----s." As he introduces himself amid popping sounds, Rawling's character Beautiful exclaims, "Silky, they're shooting!"
Things continue to pop off as Silky and the ladies clash, with one woman (Jane Wickline) putting her balloon on the ground to break it with her stiletto heel. When he meets GloRilla, Silky request a fresh balloon, so he'll have a chance to pop hers a second time. Watch "Pop the Balloon" above to see if Rawlings' Ashy Larry proves more successful.
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Dave Chappelle's Silky Johnson also pops up in SNL's "House of the Dragon" with Ice-T
This wasn't Silky's first appearance on Saturday Night Live. Most recently, he was featured in the "House of the Dragon" sketch from Chappelle's November 12, 2022 episode. Joining him was Rawlings as Beautiful and Ice T, who also starred in the 2003 "Playa Haters' Ball" sketch.
And Chappelle's SNL debut on November 12, 2016 reintroduced Silky, Beautiful, and other beloved Chappelle's Show characters in "Walking Dead Chappelle's Show." Watch it below.
