#Megan Thee Stallion Delivers Politically Charged “Savage” Performance on SNL

Performing on a set that boldly displayed the text “PROTECT BLACK WOMEN,” Meg ran through her track “Savage” before setting her sights on Daniel Cameron, the attorney general of Kentucky. After playing back audio from Malcolm X (“Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?”) and activist Tamika Mallory (“Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout negroes that sold our people into slavery”), she made her own declaration:

“We need to protect our Black women. And love our Black women. Cuz at the end of the day, we need our Black women. We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men.”

Later in the show, Meg was joined by Young Thug for their collaboration “Don’t Stop,” appeared in a sketch about hoes in the NBA bubble, and rapped a verse as part of comedic music video that riffed on not being able to see people’s faces behind masks. 

During a cold open mocking the recent presidential debate, Maya Rudolph (as Kamala Harris) name-dropped Meg and Cardi B’s recent hit, saying the country needs a “WAP,” or, in her words, a “Woman As President.” Chris Rock hosted the episode, the show’s first in Studio 8H since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch his coronavirus-centric monologue below.

Meg was recently named to TIME’s annual list of its 100 most influential people in the world in September. Next week (October 10), Justin Bieber takes the SNL stage with host Bill Burr.