Nikki Haley Plays Along With SNL Fun, But People Have Questions

'SNL'’s decision to give Haley such a massive platform struck many on social media as irresponsible.

Nikki Haley, who recently said that Texas has a path to secede from the United States before walking it back, made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and poked fun at herself for previously refusing to say that slavery was a cause of the Civil War. As Deadline reports, Ayo Edebiri hosted the Feb. 3 episode of “SNL” and made an appearance with Haley during the cold open portion of the program. Edeberi pointedly asked Haley, “I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War, and do you think it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with a ‘lavery’?” To which, Haley sheepishly replied, “Yep, I probably should’ve said that the first time.”

Edebiri, the breakout star of Hulu’s “The Bear,” also broke into tears during her “SNL” monologue, a moment that many actors and comedians still dream of.

However, “SNL”’s decision to give Haley such a massive platform struck many on social media as irresponsible. Some said it was emblematic of “SNL”’s fall from the position it once occupied, and any cultural currency it might have earned from making fun of Haley was immediately wasted, as she was not only part of the joke but in on it.

i actually don't care that it's *ayo* or anybody else … the particular actors are, to me, inconsequential. i care about the fact that Nimrata was platformed. that is the problem. https://t.co/ai4ZwmL7zY
— #PettyPendergrass (@ashoncrawley) February 4, 2024

nikki haley on snl is very on brand. if the bad, corrupt politician you’re “making fun of” feels comfortable enough being in on the joke, your comedy is not transformative or a gotcha, it’s rehabilitative, it’s stale, and you couldve kept it. that’s everything snl is right there.
— sk (@kirkxxs) February 4, 2024

it’s almost like no matter how progressive SNL pretends to be they are still going to keep platforming, tacitly endorsing, and excusing reactionary and evil people under the guise of comedy

always have, always will https://t.co/jLJUzNTuSJ
— the morally corrupt juan barquin (@woahitsjuanito) February 4, 2024

Why is Lorne Michaels platforming Nikki Haley on SNL to make a joke out of her minimizing slavery, the most inhumane and immoral event that’s ever happened in American history?
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 4, 2024

The “joke” references Haley’s refusal to say without exception that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, which, it should be noted, is what historians credit as the cause of the “War Between the States.” Instead, Haley gave a version of the “states’ rights” defense, saying during a New Hampshire town hall that the Civil War happened because of the federal government and freedoms.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said.

Later, on a New Hampshire radio show, Haley attempted to walk it back a little, saying, “Of course, the Civil War was about slavery.” She continued, “What it means to us today is about freedom — that’s what that was all about. It was about individual freedom. It was about economic freedom. It was about individual rights.” Haley then claimed that the person who asked the question was a Democratic plant who’d been put there to ask her that specific question.