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Charlotte the stingray gets starring role on SNL's Weekend Update

Saturday Night Live actor Ego Nwodim plays Charlotte the stingray as a guest of Weekend Update anchor Michael Che.

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 3, 2024

She's followed around the world, has been featured in dozens of television news reports and spoofed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Now Charlotte the stingray, Hendersonville's own international aquatic star, has received the ultimate pop culture platform — an extended guest spot on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.

Well, not Charlotte herself. The round stingray who happily swims in a tank at Team ECCO Aquarium and Shark Lab is not making guest appearances.

SNL actress Ego Nwodim plays Charlotte in a sketch in which she accuses Weekend Update anchor Michael Che of being the baby stingrays' father. Vulture, the entertainment website, says the Nigerian-born actress steals the show with her over-the-top portrayal of Charlotte. Here is Vulture's take on the sketch:

"A stingray from a North Carolina aquarium has apparently had an immaculate conception, leaving scientists stumped. Nwodim dons a massive, tent-like getup with gold hoop earrings to play Charlotte. We’ve barely had time to digest this wild costume before Charlotte starts assuring everyone she is not actually a virgin and that Michael Che is, in fact, the father. Nwodim sells every ridiculous line with an upbeat inflection and impressively straight face and extracts big laughs from the studio audience. Between this desk piece and her turn in the 'Big Bench' sketch, she easily snatches this episode’s MVP honors."