Ramy Youssef and “SNL” Revealed a New Use for Ozempic

An ingenious premise for a sketch

Ramy Youssef on "SNL"
Ramy Youssef hosted this week's "SNL."
NBCUniversal

For the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims abstain from eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset. The process of fasting can complicate aspects of life — whether that’s a result of jobs requiring high levels of energy or cravings for food that can come up during the day. Fasting for religious reasons isn’t often the stuff of comedy, but on this week’s Saturday Night Live, the cast and host Ramy Youssef found an ingenious way to find the humor there.

This came via a sketch that riffed on a recently-ubiquitous product that’s especially good at suppressing food cravings? The sketch’s title? “Ozempic for Ramadan.”

The small details here are what makes this one especially funny, especially the text specifying that this version of Ozempic is pork free. Did I find myself asking, “Wait, does Ozempic have pork in it?” at one point during the sketch? Readers, I did. (As I’d learn, the sketch addresses this very subject towards the end.)

A New MLS Policy Allows Muslim Players to Break Ramadan Fasts During Games
It’s the first major North American pro sports league to do so, aligning with a broad soccer spirit of inclusion

The sketch uses Youssef’s copious charm to good effect, and Kenan Thompson stabbing himself in the shoulder with an Ozempic injector while inhaling the smells of delicious halal cart meat is a nice bit of slapstick comedy. Fasting for religious reasons might not be at the top of anyone’s list of comedic subjects, but this sketch demonstrates how to make it work.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.