Published on: December 16, 2025, 10:09h.

Updated on: December 16, 2025, 10:12h.

Typically, a cutting remark during “Weekend Update” sparks controversy, but this time it was the accompanying image that caused the stir.

During Saturday’s live show, co-host Colin Jost humorously remarked: “This week, President Trump hosted a rally celebrating his economic performance, oddly at a casino in the Poconos. It’s a bit strange to proclaim: the future is brighter than ever. Right, woman on oxygen at the nickel slots?”

Initially, few viewers noticed that the slot player in the accompanying image appeared oddly half-drawn. By Tuesday, however, the discussion exploded online, reaching the Hollywood website Deadline, which analyzed the photo with Hive’s AI detection tool.

The result indicated a staggering 99.9% likelihood that the image was AI-generated.

Stirring Up Controversy

Artificial intelligence can produce multiple images faster than human artists can draft even one. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consultancy that monitors layoffs, reports 4,000-5,000 job losses explicitly linked to AI since 2023, particularly affecting the tech and creative industries. Furthermore, the World Economic Forum anticipates that generative AI could automate as much as 26% of tasks in arts, design, and media by 2030.

Critics have raised concerns that AI systems are trained on extensive datasets of pre-existing artwork, often without the creators’ permission, presenting ethical dilemmas related to copyright and ownership.

Primarily, the concerns voiced by “SNL” enthusiasts, industry watchers, and even a former “SNL” writer highlighted that the unrealistic portrayal of the slot player diminished the humor of the sketch.

“At SNL, I collaborated with artists who could conjure up hilarious, absurd graphics in no time,” posted Billy Domineau on Bluesky. “Many of my best jokes relied on these creative geniuses crafting insane images or sourcing the ideal real-life photograph of a politician.”

Josh Billinson, a senior social media editor at Semafor, tweeted that the joke failed to resonate because “SNL” abandoned its signature “bad Photoshop” vibe. “The intentionally shoddy photoshops are integral to the humor,” he noted.

While established journalism standards consider AI-generated images inappropriate for real news stories unless clearly marked as such — and the “SNL” image was not — “Weekend Update” operates in a different format than traditional newscasts.

Ironically, the comedy show had previously poked fun at AI-generated imagery in a sketch from its November 15 episode, parodying applications that distort old photos into bizarre hallucinations – like a grandmother puffing on a hot dog or bowling balls floating mid-air.