New York City’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was set to perform Saturday Night Live during his campaign, but Lorne Michaels passed and a comedian played him instead.
Sources said Page six that Mamdani’s camp was approaching SNL about a potential appearance while he was still running for office. The show’s longtime boss wasn’t interested.
“Mamdani was pitched, but ultimately for creative reasons they went with comedians instead,” said a source.
Ramy Youssef ended up playing the Democratic Socialist in a November 1, 2025 sketch centered 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 humor and posted clips of himself laughing with Youssef on FaceTime while the comedian was still in costume.
“‘Live from New York’ got me toasted,” he wrote on social media.
Sources say there had been broader talks about potentially having Sliwa, Cuomo and Mamdani appear on the show, though not necessarily together.
Mamdani has not been added to the show since the election, although his team could theoretically make a case for him as a musical guest, given that he had a rap career in the early 2010s under the name Mr. Cardamom.
