‘Saturday Night Live' rejected Zohran Mamdani for ‘comedians'

New York City's newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani was pitched to appear on Saturday Night Live during his campaign, but Lorne Michaels passed, and a comedian played him instead.

Sources told Page Six that Mamdani's camp approached SNL about a potential appearance while he was still running for office. The show's long-serving boss wasn't interested. 

"Mamdani was pitched, but ultimately for creative reasons, they went with comedians instead," a source said.

Ramy Youssef ended up playing the democratic socialist in a sketch on 1 November 2025 centred on the NYC mayoral debate, alongside Miles Teller as former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Shane Gillis as Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. 

Mamdani took it in good spirits, posting clips of himself laughing with Youssef on FaceTime while the comedian was still in costume. 

"Live from New York' I got roasted by," he wrote on social media.

Sources say there had been broader conversations about potentially having Sliwa, Cuomo and Mamdani appear on the show, though not necessarily together. 

Mamdani has not been pitched to the show since his election, though his team could theoretically make a case for him as a musical guest, given a rap career in the early 2010s under the name Mr. Cardamom.