Timothée Chalamet stirred controversy during his recent Saturday Night Live appearance after making a joke referencing late President Jimmy Carter.
The moment occurred in a workout sketch where the Wonka actor played a bungee instructor named Nathaniel Latrine.
In the segment, Chalamet guided cast members Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow through intense exercises, warning the group that they were not for the “faint of heart.”
At one point, while demonstrating moves that involved flying and swimming motions, Chalamet shouted, “Jimmy Carter!” The entire class then mimicked lifeless figures dangling from their bungee cords.
The joke elicited audible gasps from the studio audience and sparked immediate backlash online.
Many viewers at home took issue with the timing and nature of the reference, given that the 39th president had passed away just weeks earlier, on Dec. 29, at the age of 100.
“Someone’s going to hell for that one,” one person commented on the clip posted to YouTube. Another viewer called the remark “too soon,” while others labeled it “wild” and “disrespectful.”
On social media platform X, critics voiced their disappointment as well.
“Was funny until that Jimmy Carter line. Totally disrespectful and out of line,” one user wrote, adding, “I hope his family didn’t see that.” Another commented, “That sketch was actually pretty funny until the Jimmy Carter line.”
Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia, following a two-year hospice care journey.
His funeral was attended by numerous political figures, including former President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
While Chalamet’s performance as host and musical guest received praise for other segments, the Carter joke has left many divided, with some questioning its inclusion in the otherwise lighthearted sketch.
