One of the fun things about watching live programming is seeing actors break character in response to something that happens during the performance. And an absolutely delightful example of this came during the latest episode of “SNL” when host Adele kept corpsing at cast member Kate McKinnon’s jokes during a very weird late-hour sketch.
The sketch, which appears to be a parody of the pop culture convention of white women who go on international journeys of sexual discovery after heartbreaks — like “Eat, Pray, Love” or the 2019 romantic comedy “Holiday in the Wild” — featured McKinnon and Adele as recently divorced women in a purported Africa tourism commercial. But as the sketch went on, it was obvious the primary selling point of the tourism was the chance to hook up with extremely hot guys in Africa.
Basically, Adele and McKinnon would list off the attractions that are awaiting people who visit the second largest continent, such as the incredible music, beaches, or scenery. But occasionally, McKinnon would say “tribesmen,” often as extras would walk into the frame, indicating tourists were hooking up with the locals. McKinnon would put an extra breathy emphasis on the word “tribesman,” and that appears to be something Adele found hilarious because it consistently made her crack up.
For example:
McKinnon: Sun
Adele: Breeze
McKinnon: Ocean
Adele: Mountains
Together: And beautiful, beautiful Africa
McKinnon: Witness the wonder, the escape, the story.
Adele: The sandy beaches, the massive bamboo
McKinnon: The wildlife, the culture
Adele: The food, the nightlife
McKinnon: Tribesmen
At that, Adele started to lose it, and ended up involuntarily chuckling through her next lines, which were “the history, and lush dangling foliage.” There’s plenty more of course, including the appearance of Heidi Gardner late in the sketch. But you don’t need us to transcribe the whole thing, you’re just here for the Adele laughing. And you can see that for yourself at the top of the page right now.