April 10, 2023
Watch: Bowen Yang's Gay Jafar Throws Epic Shade at DeSantis
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Out comic genius Bowen Yang displayed his satirical chops once again on the April 8 episode of "Saturday Night Live" as he donned Gay Jafar attire and swept into she show's "Weekend Update" section to throw some shade at "The Boy" – a.k.a. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Asked by Weekend update co-anchor Michael Che, "as a Disney character, what do you think ofRon DeSantis?" Yang, in full Jafar regalia – including a Van Dyke beard and eyeliner, which the gay-coded character sported in the 1992 animated film – responded, "You mean The Boy?"
Yang let loose, from the villains' perspective, on DeSantis' sartorial shortcomings.
"As far as villains go, The Boy is an amateur," Yang declaimed. "He has no rizz, no spark, no drip!" The comedian added that DeSantis' "look is giving 'baby mayor,' " and raked the governor for the white cowboy boots he's been seen wearing, saying, "let's be honest – they wore him."
Though the DeSantis closet might not yield a satisfying selection fo wicked threads, Yang allowed that "The Boy is plenty evil. Banning Rosa Parks in schools?" – a reference to Florida's so-called "Stop Woke" law, which curtails what schools can teach about race relations in U.S, history and restricts diversity training at private companies. "I'm a dark sorcerer, and even I was like, 'Jesus, dude, it's Rosa Parks!' "
Yang went on to address the idea of state government attempting to quash a private company's political speech.
"If The Boy thinks he can somehow stop Disney World from being gay, that carpet has flown!" the comedian declared with an evil cackle. "I mean, if you open up Grindr on Main Street USA, your phone explodes! And everywhere else in the park, it's nothing but 40-year-old men with braces. I don't know what that is, but it ain't straight."
Addressing his own sexual orientation, the character referenced his "John Waters 'stache" and his eyeliner being "on point."
"Of course I'm gay, you petulant fool!" Yang raged. "My final form is a yoked genie with gorgeous nails!" The comic then cited a number of other villainous characters from the Disney canon that are seen to be coded as gay, including Scar from "The Lion King," Ursula from "The Little Mermaid," and Mulan.
To Che's comment that DeSantis "doesn't even want anything remotely gay happening at Disney World at all," Yang sighed, "There's already a Disney World where nothing gay happens. It's called Six Flags," before calling DeSantis out for having had his own wedding at Disney World in 2009.
The ongoing feud between DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company began last year when Disney, under pressure, publicly disagreed with the Republican-controlled state legislature's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which criminalizes classroom discussion of LGTBQ+ topics and which critics say marginalizes students and school staff with gay relatives or who may be LGBTQ+ themselves. (Only a year after the bill's passages, it is set to be expanded.)
Florida lawmakers used the levers of government to enact retribution on the company for its criticism, reneging on a deal that had been in place for more than a half-century that gave Disney governance of the district in which the company's sprawling amusement park, Disney World, is located.
But the outgoing board controlling the district negotiated a deal with the company that placed severe and long-lasting limits on what the new board – consisting of hand-picked conservatives – can do.
In response, DeSantis was quick to announce new ways in which the power of the state government would be channeled into punishing the company, including the possibility of special taxes being levied on the resort's hotels and the implementation of tolls on roads that lead to the park.
Watch Yang's portrayal of gay Jafar below.