Nikki Glaser eyebrows raised with jokes about sex trafficking, rape and pedophilia in it Saturday evening live beginning.
The 41-year-old comedian hosted the NBC sketch comedy series for the first time on Saturday, November 8, with nearly 10 minutes of airtime devoted to her stand-up monologue. The controversial part of her routine began with Glaser complaining about the dangers of going to nail salons with her friends.
“You can go to the nail salon with a friend, but you’re separated at the border. They don’t let you sit next to each other. It’s so antisocial,” Glaser joked. “You’re just sitting there watching Defeat Bobby Flay muted. You can’t talk to the woman who does your nails because of… slavery? I don’t know! She seems stuck and sad. I don’t know.”
Glaser then addressed the issue of sex trafficking warnings that women commonly see in public restrooms.
“I think I’m just paranoid and I think I’m just obsessed with slavery recently because every time you go…into a public women’s restroom and you sit in the stall, there’s always a poster at the back of the stall asking if you’re being trafficked,” she said. “They’re in every booth. They’re in every language in the world. English is really tiny and it’s like, ‘You wish.'”
She continued: “The men’s room doesn’t have these signs. I don’t know what signs you have? You have signs that look like, ‘You want a slave? Send Traffick to 69-69.'”
THE Dancing with the stars one alumna pointed out that she wasn’t the only one worried about sex trafficking.
“It’s a really big fear to be trafficked, especially for Gen Z girls,” she said. “I bought a lot of Gen Z friends…and they’re terrified. I don’t understand them. I’m 41. That was never a fear of mine in my 20s. In my 20s, I was just afraid of good old rape. I didn’t think it would be a career. We didn’t think it would be anything other than a ‘temporary job’ on a futon at a frat house.”
Glaser said she worried she might be a victim of trafficking during a recent night out with her young friends.
“I thought, ‘What if we were trafficked?’ And they were like, ‘You’re fine,'” she said. “They say, ‘We’re safer when you’re with us because they think you’re our madam.'”
Nikki Glaser on “Saturday Night Live”
Courtesy of YouTube / Courtesy of NBCShe took the issue further by mentioning that her Gen Z friends thought she had “resting Ghislaine face,” referring to a recently convicted sex offender. Jeffrey Epsteinthe girlfriend of Ghislaine Maxwell. (In June 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking in connection with her activities with Epstein. She has denied wrongdoing.)
This was the second time Glaser brought up Epstein’s sex trafficking scandal in her monologue, as she had earlier referred to New York as “Epstein’s original island.” (Epstein owned a private island, Little Saint James, from 1998 until his death by suicide at age 66 in August 2019. The financier was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges shortly before his death and had previously been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.)
In another section of the monologue, Glaser joked about feeling uncomfortable when his 4-year-old nephew asked him to take a shower with her.
“My sister told me, ‘He can take a shower with you. It’s okay. He does it with us,'” she remembers. “I’m like, ‘Good for you guys, but are you really OK with an adult taking a shower with your kid?’ Maybe it’s okay if you come to supervise.
When Glaser’s sister asked why surveillance was necessary, the comic said, “What if I molested her?” She said to me: “Would you like to?!” I was like, “Like, no! Never. It’s disgusting!’ But that’s what I would say if I had to [do it]. [Abusers] lie. Don’t trust anyone! I don’t even have confidence in myself.
Glaser’s risky monologue proved divisive with SNL viewers, as many felt it was inappropriate to make fun of sex trafficking and sexual abuse.
Getty Images (3) Nobody goes there like Nikki Glaser. While the comedian made headlines in May 2024 for her epic set in The Roast of Tom Brady, which aired live on Netflix, it certainly wasn’t the first time she came out for some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Glaser was also a […]
“Okay Nikki Glaser lost me because why are we talking about sexual assault and pedophilia!???” one X user complained, while another chimed in: “Nikki Glaser, this is really pissing me off. snl This evening.”
“Things Nikki Glaser managed to turn into a joke about herself snl open: domestic violence, racism, [sexual assault]pedophilia, sex trafficking. Do better,” another viewer asked.
A SNL One fan called Glaser’s jokes “disgraceful” and continued: “Nikki Glaser hosts @nbcsnl tonight. Wow, attempt at humor about rape and sex trafficking… yeah, no.
“Nikki Glaser hosting #snl and joking about sex trafficking is completely tone deaf and offensive. WTF,” one X user wrote.
Others defended Glaser’s jokes, including one SNL fan who felt like she really shed light on important issues.
“What I took away from Nikki Glaser’s roast: She shouted out the smaller guys. She raised awareness for resources if any of them were being trafficked. She talked about how easily a family member can HER someone,” they argued. “I thought she was funny.”
Another fan expressed hope that Glaser would “win an Emmy for this shit.”
Us every week has contacted NBC for comment.
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage Nikki Glaser isn’t playing when it comes to prepping for her Golden Globes hosting gig. “93,” Glaser, 40, told E! Reports from the red carpet ahead of the awards show revealed how many times she rehearsed her monologue. “[Tonight] this will be the 94th time I’ve told a version of this. I mean, it’s […]
Glaser has another major hosting opportunity on the horizon as she will return to MC for the Golden Globe Awards for the second year in a row in January 2026. The comedian has had huge success with her joke monologues on Ben Affleck, Sean “Diddy” Combs And Adrien Brody last year, she was invited back by award show organizers Dick Clark Productions, just two months after the 2025 ceremony.
“Hosting the Golden Globes this year was without a doubt the most fun I’ve ever had in my career,” Glaser announced in March 2025. “I can’t wait to do it again, and this time in front of the team of The White Lotus who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in season four as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a dark past.
President of the Golden Globes Helene Hoehne expressed enthusiasm for Glaser’s return in 2026 because of the comic’s “refreshing spark and fearless spirit.”
“Her quick humor and bold presence set the tone for an unforgettable evening, making the ceremony vibrant and, above all, fun,” Hoehne said.
Saturday evening liveThe next new episode of will air Saturday, November 15 on NBC at 11:30 p.m. AND with guest host Glen Powell and musical guest Olivia Doyen.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
