Maya Rudolph Brings Beyoncé Back to ‘Hot Ones’ for Outrageous SNL Sketch

By William Earl

Maya Rudolph brought Beyoncé back to “Saturday Night Live,” reprising her impression in order to give Queen B another shot at the spicy chicken wing talk show “Hot Ones.”

Opposite Mikey Day’s take on host Sean Evans, Beyoncé returns for the challenging YouTube interview segment, cocky about the wings until they become uncomfortably hot. As things get more unbearable, she has increasingly difficult instructions for her assistant, played by Kenan Thompson.

Rudolph last played Beyoncé appearing on “Hot Ones” on a March 2021 episode of “SNL.” Prior to this year’s “Hot Ones” sketch, Rudolph’s monologue consisted of a Beyoncé-inspired song called “Mother.”

Rudolph has spoken in the past how much Beyoncé’s artistry has empowered her, including a 2019 interview with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” about how much she loved the singer’s Coachella sets.

“I saw Beychella…I saw it both weekends,” she said. “It was the craziest thing… it changed my life. We all witnessed something that had never been done, that was made with love, that was made with beauty, that was made with pride. It was a nod to Historical Black Colleges and Universities.”

Watch the sketch below.