Karen Valby

2 weeks ago | vanityfair.com | Karen Valby

May James Austin Johnson spend his summer alternating between sage cleanses and cold plunges, whatever he needs to do to rid himself of Donald Trump's neck glue and the psychic cost of bringing our President to satirical life. His Trump lasted two thirds of the cold open on stage, bragging about his new $400 million Qatar plane and his big Boeing deal with the Saudis. “Get me to Allah's country,” he said, land of oil and money and people forbidden from hating him.

3 weeks ago | vanityfair.com | Karen Valby

The Moms are here! The Moms are here! There's no more sentimental show of Saturday Night Live's season than the Mother's Day episode. The cold open kicked off with Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, and Marcello Hernandez standing proudly alongside their actual Moms. It was all good fun, until Donald Trump had to ruin everything. James Austin Johnson made a couple easy cracks about our newly elected Pope Leo XIV and JD Vance and tariffs, but really he was just a vehicle to get to the heart of the open.

1 month ago | vanityfair.com | Karen Valby

Quinta Brunson sashayed onto the main stage looking like Betty Boop, ready for her sophomore stint hosting SNL. She gave passing glance to her brief tenure working a phone sex line before moving onto the driving bit of her monologue. The 4'11 Emmy-winning star and creator of Abbott Elementary broke into song—her voice a bit quavery to start—in praise of her humble stature. “If you're looking for a superstar, start looking down,” she sang.

1 month ago | vanityfair.com | Karen Valby

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival turns 26 this year, which means that some of its performers this weekend (hello, Tyla) weren't even born when the now-iconic event kicked off in 1999, with acts including Beck, Underworld, and Rage Against the Machine. Now a well-established affair, Coachella 2025 kicked off on Friday, April 11 in the desert near Palm Springs.

1 month ago | vanityfair.com | Karen Valby

Whatever your take on The White Lotus finale, I guarantee you'll love the Saturday Night Live spinoff. The White Potus: An American Horror Story had it all. Chloe Fineman luxuriating in all of Parkey Posey's vowels as Melania Trump. James Austin Johnson with the rare chance to play a reflective Donald Trump, bleary-eyed and terrified of the criminal avalanche he's brought down on his family and country.