‘Weekend Update’ Flub: Viewers Call Out SNL for ‘Odd’ AI Image

Saturday Night Live usually gets laughs. This weekend, there were questions.

During the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, viewers noticed something unusual during the “Weekend Update” segment. As Colin Jost delivered a joke about President Donald Trump holding a rally at a casino, an image appeared on screen showing an older woman using an oxygen tank while playing slot machines.

The image stood out to many viewers. Its smooth look and odd details led to speculation that it may have been created using AI rather than the show’s usual rough-and-ready Photoshop style.

Deadline reported that it analyzed the image using Hive’s AI detection tool, which showed a 99.9% probability that the picture was AI-generated. 

Viewers say the joke lost its edge

Much of the backlash focused not on the technology itself, but on how it affected the comedy.

Josh Billinson, senior social media editor at Semafor, criticized the choice on X, writing: “A lot of reasons why SNL using AI for stuff like this sucks, but my main gripe is just that it’s less funny! The intentionally kind of janky photoshops are part of the joke and beat the weird smooth AI aesthetic.”

Others echoed that sentiment, arguing that the low-quality, human-made visuals have long been part of SNL’s charm.

The scrutiny did not stop with “Weekend Update.” Viewers also pointed to illustrated images used earlier in the episode’s cold open, which resembled pages from a Christmas storybook. Some of those visuals appeared to contain odd inconsistencies, further fueling claims that generative AI may have been used more than once during the broadcast.

By Sunday, the issue had gained traction online, with more than a thousand posts on X discussing the alleged AI images, as spotted by LateNighter.

The criticism also came from within the show’s own family. Former SNL writer Billy Domineau posted on Bluesky about the artists he worked with.

“At SNL I worked with artists who made the funniest, stupidest graphics in no time flat,” Domineau wrote. “Some of my biggest jokes would have been impossible without these geniuses building an insane image or finding the perfect real-life photo of a politician.”

Critics say the concern goes beyond one joke, touching on fears about creative jobs and the erosion of human-made work in television.

A clash with SNL’s own past jokes

The move is seen as particularly jarring because SNL itself recently mocked AI imagery.

In a sketch last month hosted by Glen Powell titled “AI Photos,” the show hilariously skewered apps that poorly animate old pictures, resulting in bizarre visuals like a woman smoking a hot dog.

SNL and NBC have not commented on the allegations or confirmed the use of AI. However, Deadline reports that the network does not have a public AI policy for editorial content, though it requires political advertisers to disclose any use of “synthetic media” clearly.

To learn more about AI pushback in advertising, see McDonald’s pulling an AI Christmas ad.
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