Kenan Thompson channels R. Kelly's unhinged interview with Gayle King on 'SNL'

The singer's outbursts made for perfect comedic fodder.

March 10, 2019, 12:03 AM

The only thing more unhinged than a real R. Kelly interview proved to be Kenan Thompson and Leslie Jones' impression of one.

"Saturday Night Live" tackled the pop star's animated interview with CBS's Gayle King in their cold open -- and it did not disappoint in its wackiness.

"I made a lot of mistakes in my life," Kelly, played by the ever-versatile Thompson, commented near the start of the interview.

Jones donned King's persona to recoil with horror at each one of Kelly's increasingly unstable comments.

Of course, eventually Thompson slid into a "Trapped in the Closet"-esque musical monologue during the interview.

"It's 10 o'clock in the morning and I'm talking to Oprah's friend," he sang. "If I can just get through this everyone's gonna love me again."

The interview, much like the real one, did not accomplish that goal. Thompson's Kelly spent much of the interview either unable to spell, read or actually realize the interview had begun.

"This is all good stuff, but maybe we should save it for the interview," he told King, before being informed he was on camera the whole time. The camera was then pointed out to him over Jones' shoulder.

"Y'all just keep your camera out in the open like that?" he said. "Y'all some freaks!"

After debating whether he should become a lawyer -- or president -- and getting some coaching from his new "crisis manager," he wondered aloud about King's name. He was under the impression she was the "Jail King," not "Gayle King."

"So you're not the jail king? Then what am I doing here?" he said.

He then turned to a plant, thinking it was a hidden camera, and announced, "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"