In her first appearance tonight on SNL, Kim Kardashian West admitted she was just as surprised as anyone by the fact that she’s wound up hosting.
“When they asked, I was like, ‘You want me to host? Why? I haven’t had a movie premiere in a really long time,” she deadpanned in her opening monologue, presumably referencing her 2002 sex tape. “I mean, actually, I only had that one movie come out, and nobody told me it was even premiering. It must have slipped my mom’s mind.”
West said her goal in her debut appearance on the late-night series is to show everyone that she is “so much more than just a pretty face—and good hair, and great makeup, and amazing boobs, and a perfect butt.
“Basically,” she added, “I’m just so much more than that reference photo my sisters showed their plastic surgeons.”
The host later addressed the privilege in her life, noting that she has tried to “give back” as much as she can to make up for it. “A real passion of mine is trying to get wrongly-accused people out of jail…My father was and is still such an influence and inspiration to me, and I credit him with really opening up my eyes to racial injustice,” she said. “It’s because of him that I met my first Black person. You want to take a stab in the dark at who it was?
“I know it’s sort of weird to remember the first Black person you met,” she continued, “but O.J. [Simpson] does leave a mark—or several, or none at all. I still don’t know.”
West said that while as an influencer, she understands that the things she says “carry weight,” she would “never” tell anyone what they can or can’t do. “Remember, I’m a Kim, not a Karen—and honestly, with all the K names, it’s really impressive that my mom didn’t pick Karen,” she said. “I mean, somehow, she just knew. I don’t know how she saw that one coming and not Caitlyn.”
West subsequently acknowledged division within the country, and expressed her hope that America can come together. “Which is why I’m here to announce I’m running for…I’m just kidding,” she deadpanned. “I’m not running for President. We can’t have three failed politicians in one family.”
Before wrapping up her monologue, West also fired shots at ex-husband Kanye West, as well as SNL itself. She acknowledged that West is “a talented, legit genius who gave me four incredible kids.” This meant, she said, that “when I divorced him…it came down to just one thing: Personality.
“I just want to say how incredibly excited I am to be up here on this stage tonight,” the host went on to say. “I mean, I’m so used to having 360 million followers watching my every move, and how many people watch SNL? Like 10 million? Tonight is just a chill, intimate night for me.”
Tonight on SNL, Halsey returns as musical guest. We’ll update this story with a link to West’s monologue as it comes in.