Punch the monkey makes an appearance on SNL Weekend Update

March 2, 2026

Two people in a monkey costume

To close out Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, Colin Jost introduced the night's final guest: Punch the monkey's mom.

Not literally, of course. It was Sarah Sherman, in a bikini-fitted monkey costume, who portrayed the absentee mama as a trailer-trash harlot.

Sherman's "Mama Punch" immediately clarified that she didn’t abandon Punch-kun under tragic circumstances — she simply didn't want him. From there, the segment unfolded exactly how any Sarah Sherman Weekend Update appearance does. She rattled off a résumé of famous primates she's allegedly romanced — King Kong, Curious George — and proudly reminded the audience that she was, in her words, "Harambe’s last meal."

The whole bit felt like a Maury episode produced during a fever dream, or like stumbling onto WWF Raw Is War way too late on a Monday night.

Then Punch-kun himself showed up, played by Marcello Hernández, whose sheer cuteness cracked Sherman immediately. The two hugged. The audience cheered.

Love wins, I guess.

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