'SNL' recap: Cold open parodies Johnny Depp, Amber Heard

A woman dressed like a judge and a man dressed like Johnny Depp, seated in a courtroom

May 15, 2022 1:13 PM PT

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s ongoing defamation trial got the cold-open treatment on the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

Hosted by Selena Gomez with musical guest Post Malone, this weekend’s installment of the comedy series included sketches about Heard and Depp, clueless boyfriends and the Los Angeles city of Pico Rivera, as well as a cameo from “SNL” veteran Steve Martin.

“I’m on a show called ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ and I’m so honored to work with Steve Martin and Martin Short — especially after I googled them to find out who they were,” Gomez joked in her opening monologue.

“I remember telling my friend I was cast in a show called ‘Only Murders,’ and she was like, ‘Sounds sexy. Any hot co-stars?’ And I was like, ‘Depends. Do you love the banjo?‘”

When Gomez revealed during her stand-up routine that she was single and hoping to find love on “SNL,” cast members Kyle Mooney, James Austin Johnson and Punkie Johnson all stepped up to the plate.

“I’ve heard that SNL is a great place to find romance,” Gomez said.

“Emma Stone met her husband here. Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, and Pete [Davidson] and Machine Gun Kelly. And since I don’t really want to try the dating apps, I just want to put it out in the universe that ... I’m looking for my soulmate. But at this point, I will take anyone.”

Here’s a sampling of highlights from Saturday’s show.

Depp vs. Heard trial returns from hiatus — sort of

After Depp and Heard’s defamation trial went on hiatus this week, “SNL” moved to fill the void with a cold open featuring Mooney as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star.

In the parody of the legal battle, Judge Penney Azcarate (Cecily Strong) reviewed footage of Depp’s property manager (Kenan Thompson) discovering “boo-boo” in the actor’s bed. (In real life, Depp has accused Heard or one of her friends of defecating on his bed — which Heard has denied.)

Footage of the discovery “wouldn’t prove my client is guilty of anything,” argued Heard’s attorney (Heidi Gardner).

“That’s true,” ruled the judge. “But I’ll allow it because it does sound fun. And this trial is for fun.”

Pico Rivera gets a shout-out

A rare L.A.-centric sketch starred Gomez and Melissa Villaseñor as co-hosts of “A Peek at Pico,” a talk show about “everything happening in Pico Rivera, from the good to the bad.”

“So, like, what’d you get into this weekend, chica?” Villaseñor’s Vanessa asked Gomez’s Sofia.

“I got a new eyeliner,” Sofia said. “But the eyeliner poked me in the eye. ... That’s sad.”

Martin returns to ‘SNL’

Fifteen-time “SNL” host Martin returned to the show this weekend to support his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star, Gomez, by appearing in a digital short about the inventor of the whoopee cushion.

“Back in the early ’60s... when I had the prototype of the cushion, I knew it would be funny to have your boss sit down and a noise come from his butt, but I just couldn’t figure out what noise,” the inventor (Martin) said in the video.

“That night, he realized the funniest noise that could come out of a butt was a fart,” said the narrator (Gomez).

A new extreme sport: Boyfriends running errands

One of the evening’s digital shorts parodied the hit Japanese reality show “Old Enough,” which follows toddlers running errands for their parents all by themselves. Except this version was about “an equally helpless group”: long-term boyfriends running errands for their girlfriends.

“Matt and Kelsey live in New York City. They have been dating for three years, and now that he’s 34, Kelsey thinks Matt is ready to run an errand all by himself,” a narrator explains.

“Matt’s nervous. But with Kelsey’s help, Matt is ready for his big errand!”

Another episode, another medieval sketch

Repurposing the medieval castle set from last week’s cold open about abortion, another sketch centered on a prince (Mikey Day) evaluating three princesses (Nwodim, Gomez and Kate McKinnon) as potential brides in “a faraway kingdom.”

“Good job killing our dragon,” the king (Thompson) told the prince. “No one asked you to, but thank you. You may now meet my daughters three and choose one to be your bride.”

“Yes, surely one of them will be more beautiful than the rest — or, knowing my luck, one will be weird,” the prince said.

“Sometimes one of the girls is weird — on purpose,” Nwodim’s character said. “She’ll make a joke out of herself before anyone can judge her.”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause we have to jump through crazy hoops for princes like you, dragon dork,” Gomez’s character added.