Aziz Ansari stunned many viewers of Saturday Night Live as he debuted as FBI Director Kash Patel on SNL.
The 43-year-old comedian-actress appeared unannounced as Kash Patel in the cold open of the popular on May 2, 2026, on NBC, where he delivered satirical jabs on the sketch titled, "Hegseth and Patel Iran Press Briefing."
The Master of None star, who was joined Colin Jost, who played Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, began his skit by stepping up to the podium at the fictional White House briefing room.
Ansari, who kept a wide-eyed expressions throughout his skit, mimicked the recent assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
He also addressed allegations of incompetence, delivered increasingly specific denials that became funnier with each statement.
The Good Fortune actor also claimed that he would conduct the most thorough investigation possible and that the FBI was six weeks away from finding Osama bin Laden.
The highlight came when Ansari’s character declared himself the first Indian person to suck at their job, joking, “I am a trailblazer. I am the first Indian person to suck at their job.”
“Everyone says Indian people are smart, hardworking, incredibly intelligent. I prove without a shadow of a doubt that we can be just as incapable and incompetent as the whites,” he further said, sparking viral reactions across social media.
One user, who did not like the jab at all, wrote on X, “SNL attempts to make an ethnic joke and it ends up just being flattery towards DEI people (this time Indians) at the expense of white people. Aziz Ansari is not capable of satirizing his own people. He’s far too much of an ethnic narcissist. Too bad because this could have been really funny.”Another user, however, claimed that he thoroughly enjoyed Ansari’s skit, saying, “SNL has only ever been ok to me. I thoroughly enjoyed Aziz Ansari as Patel...this is the American Diaspora. Everyone gets made fun of. Welcome to the hazing Indians!”
