“This is a new low”: SNL met with backlash following Nikki Haley’s surprise cameo appearance

Nikki Haley's February 2 appearance on Saturday Night Live caused a stir on social media. She appeared in the show's cold open as a "concerned South Carolina voter" who wishes to ask Donald Trump a question during a spoof town hall. The character of Trump was played by James Austin Johnson.

A grinning Haley also announced the iconic "live from New York" line at the outset of the show on Saturday. This happened following her appearance on the show where the actors prepared a parody about her town hall scandal, which took place in December 2023. During her town hall meeting, she "forgot" to use the word "slavery" when asked about the origins of the Civil War.

During the episode of SNL, Haley and Johnson's Trump then discussed prior election results and Trump's age. After that SNL host and Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri asked Haley a question of her own and joked about how Haley forgot about the actual cause of the Civil War.

However, the entire thing offended several netizens. Once the video and the news was uploaded on X (formerly known as Twitter), netizens took to the post uploaded by @bennyjohnson to criticize SNL.

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Netizens bash Saturday Night Live for inviting Nikki Haley as a guest

Netizens are currently bashing Nikki Haley and SNL (Image via Facebook / Nikki Haley)

Nikki Haley made an unexpected cameo on Saturday Night Live on February 2. During the cold open, she asked a cast member, who was portraying her Republican presidential primary opponent Donald Trump, a number of questions.

The play was set during a town hall in South Carolina, where prospective voters questioned Johnson's portrayal of the former president. Later in the show, the 52-year-old politician emerged and asked the fictionalized Trump why he wouldn't "debate Nikki Haley". This referred to the fact that till now, Trump has avoided all forms of debate.

Johnson's Trump responded to Trump's confusion about Nikki Haley with the former House Speaker by saying:

"Oh. my God. It's her, the woman who was in charge of security on January 6. It's Nancy Pelosi."

The actors here referred to the particular day in 2021 when the supporters of the former president attacked the US Capitol.

After Johnson's Trump quoted the iconic line from The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people", Haley remarked that it was:

"What will voters say if they see you and [President] Joe [Biden] on the ballot."

Ayo Edebiri later appeared at the end of the parody and directed a question at Haley.

“I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War? And do you think it starts with an S and ends with a lavery?”

The former South Carolina governor responded,

“Yep, I probably should have said that the first time."

Haley's SNL appearance ended with her being confronted for not acknowledging slavery as the cause of the Civil War during the campaign. During a December town hall meeting, Haley contended that the reason for the Civil War was primarily about the government's operations, freedoms, and what people could and could not do.

After additional clarification, a town hall attendee asked Nikki Haley about slavery in particular, to which she answered,

"What do you want me to say about slavery?" before saying, "Next question."

However, following her appearance in SNL and the entire skit, many took to social media to react to the entire thing and bash the show.

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Sources like Newsweek reached out to NBC and Haley's campaign for comment via email; however, no one responded. A representative from Saturday Night Live also did not yet reply to PEOPLE's request for comment.