SNL: Fans praise Kim Kardashian for ‘slaying’ opening monologue with jokes about Kanye West and OJ Simpson

The new season of Saturday Night Live continued this evening with the second episode in series 47.

Host Kim Kardashian kicked off the show by delivering a monologue that may viewers on social media were quick to praise, with jokes about OJ Simpson, her family and Kanye West.

She began with a joke about her father, who was part of OJ Simpson’s defence team in the Nineties. Kardashian said: “I think I’m following in my father’s footsteps. My father was and still is such an influence and inspiration to me and I credit him with really opening my eyes to racial injustice. It’s because of him I met my first Black person. Want to take a stab in the dark at who it was? I know it’s sort of weird to remember your first Black person you met, but OJ [Simpson] does leave a mark. Or none at all, I still don’t know.”

Kardashian then went on to take a joking aim at her family with a pointed comment to her sister Kaitlin. “Listen I’m an influencer, so I understand that the things that I say carry weight. But I would never tell anyone what they can or can’t do. I’m a Kim, not a Karen. Honestly, with all of the K names it’s really impressive that my mum didn’t pick Karen. I mean somehow she just knew. I don’t know how she saw that one coming and not Kaitlin.”

She then made a reference to her ex-husband Kanye West running for president, joking that she was going to run for president too: “I know we’re divided as a country but I’d love America to come together, which I why I’m here to announce that I’m running for...I’m just kidding. I’m not running for president. We can’t have three failed politicians in one family.”

“I married the best rapper of all time. Not only that, he’s the richest Black man in America – a talented, legit genius who gave me four incredible kids. So when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing – his personality. I know that sounds mean, but people keep telling me that comedy comes from truth and if there’s one thing I always strive to be it’s genuine.”

She finally took aim at SNL’s lower viewing ratings: “I’m so used having 360 million people watching my every move and I mean how many people watch SNL, like 10 million? So tonight is just a chill, intimate night for me.”

Viewers enjoyed the monologue with audiences saying Kardashian “slayed” the opening monologue. One Twitter user said she “nailed it” while another said “this was the funniest monologue ever.”

You can see some of the reaction here:

SNL recently unveiled the cast of its new season, with Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt both leaving the show.

Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong, and Kenan Thompson will all be returning along with the rest of the show’s ensemble – Michael Che, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Alex Moffat, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor, and Bowen Yang.

The hosts have been unveiled too with an eclectic line up featuring Owen Wilson – who opened the season – followed by Kardashian, Rami Malek and Jason Sudeikis.