As “Saturday Night Live” trudges on this season with a little-known cast, uneven sketches and yet another horrendous appearance by obvious misogynist Shane Gillis, news that comedian and internet personality Druski, aka Drew Desbordes, will host the Nov. 7 episode suddenly gives me hope. I think it’s the most interesting thing “SNL” has done in years.
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest “Saturday Night Live” fan. I’ve tuned in rarely over the years, usually only when an actor or artist I find fascinating hosts. In the last decade, it’s been rare: Eddie Murphy hosting in 2019, Megan Thee Stallion appearing in the iconic “Girl Talk” sketch with Ego Nwodim and Dave Chappelle’s 2025 appearance, where he paid homage to his beloved sketch comedy series “Chapelle’s Show.” But I’ve mostly had very little interest in tuning in over the years.
The idea of bringing Druski to Studio 8H at least feels like a cutting-edge thing that the “SNL” of old might have done. The 32-year-old comedian is the first content creator to ever host the show, which has sparked a lot of kerfuffle (some rightfully so) about influencers stepping into spaces previously reserved for “true celebrities.” But I would argue that Druski has never been an influencer. He has always been a comedian first, an artist who honed his craft by posting short skits on his Instagram page and eventually building an organic audience of 35+ million followers and billions of views across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Until more recently, mainstream studios and streamers have ignored Druski in favor of blondes who’ve never read a book. However, Druski has been a name in the Black community for nearly a decade. Just a few years into posting, the Maryland-born comedian appeared in music videos for major hip-hop artists like Drake and Lil Yachty. Instead of using a musician as the opening act for their 2021 tour, rappers J. Cole and 21 Savage had Druski open for them. In addition to his comedy work, Druski created “Coulda Been Records,” which allowed artists to join his Instagram Live posts and collaborate. He had a starring role in Peacock’s 2023 film “Praise This” opposite Chloe Bailey, and in 2025 launched the 10-city arena tour Coulda Fest, which sold out immediately.
However, it’s Druski’s ability to put his finger on the pulse of societal touchstones with elaborate, hilarious and self-funded skits that makes him almost a singular entity in the comedy space today. While older comedians regurgitate tired material or appear in the prequels and sequels of the latest recycled IP, Druski calls out the hypocrisy of megachurches and takes Erika Kirk to task while indicting white supremacy and American conservatism. On a more granular level, his work has commented on the horrors of 21st-century dating, “hat fishing” (when men hide their balding hairlines under fitted caps), and the terror that we all feel at airports when encountering aggressive and impatient TSA agents. Druski’s comedy embodies what it means to be a young American at this particular moment.
Though his perspective is often from a Black lens, American culture overall is typically siphoned from Black culture before moving into the mainstream. Because Black people have been so subjugated in this country via slavery, Jim Crow, racism and now the Trump administration, knowing how to weave in and out of white spaces is essential to Black survival. However, that revolving door does not work the other way. As a result, the mainstream often has blind spots or is years late in “discovering” Black talent.
It’s the same reason why so many people publicly admonished Will Smith’s actions at the 2024 Oscars while Black people collectively still feel that Chris Rock deserved that slap. There’s a reason comparing Taylor Swift to Beyoncé never made sense, or why, when DEI is erased from boardrooms, marketing campaigns like Sydney Sweeney’s “Good Genes” are greenlit. Or, that somebody has the idea that Kendall Jenner is suddenly the person to solve racism with a Pepsi. It’s the same reason why movies, commercials and television have felt stale and uninspired for years. Innovation can only happen when new ideas and perspectives are taken into account.
For Black talent like Druski — and even Issa Rae before him — rejection means taking things into their own hands and building an audience organically. It’s only later that the mainstream wakes up and comes knocking after something has already been built. In fact, “SNL” is rather late in bringing Druski to its stage: In June, he hosted the 2026 BET Awards, becoming the youngest host in the show’s 25-year history. He’s also slated to star opposite Chris Pine and Emma Stone in the upcoming film “The Catch.”
Druski has worked for years to build his own platform and digital leverage, which extends well beyond the confining term of “influencer.” He has been a shining star in the Black community for years; everyone else — including “SNL” — is just now catching up.