Tonight on SNL, Poor Things star Ramy Youssef appeared as part of a commercial highlighting an exciting new product called Ozempic for Ramadan.
After getting his kids ready for school, Youssef tells the viewer, “You know, fasting for Ramadan used to be easy, but the last few years of work and a growing family, it’s felt almost impossible. But not anymore, thanks to Ozempic for Ramadan.”
A narrator then explains that “Ozempic is a medication prescribed to suppress hunger and slow digestion, and Ramadan is a month when Muslims abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset.”
While making a stop to the fridge at night, Youssef continues, “I used to rush to eat a whole meal before dawn. But now, I just grab my prayer beads and my Ozempic needle. As long as I shoot up before the sun rises, it’s halal.”
A character played by Ego Nwodim shares that since her doctor prescribed her Ozempic for Ramadan, she’s never gotten more work done. “While my coworkers are at lunch, I’m on Google Sheets going ham, no haram,” she says.
Kenan Thompson, playing a food vendor, confesses, “Running my halal cart during Ramadan is really hard, smelling all my delicious meats in their 48-hour marinades on my buttered grill.” But with Ozempic for Ramadan, he says, injecting himself with a needle, “now I don’t even get hangry if white women ask if I have salmon.”
Our narrator explains that side effects of the medication may include “nausea, headaches, and going straight to Hell.” It should be noted, though, that Ozempic for Ramadan even works for converts.
“I’ve always loved the sound of cab drivers yelling on their phones in Arabic, and it made me really want to convert to Islam,” says a character played by Andrew Dismukes. “The only thing holding me back was having to fast for Ramadan, and a bunch of the other rules. But now with Ozempic for Ramadan, I can walk into the mosque with a full heart and a 27-inch waist.”
Our narrator chimes in thereafter to enthuse that “Ozempic for Ramadan has all the miraculous hunger-crushing ingredients that regular Ozempic has, but without any pork.”
Then, Youssef returns to note that with Ozempic for Ramadan, when the time finally comes to eat, he’s not even hungry. “I think I’m just going to fast the whole month straight, probably get extra awards from God,” he enthuses. “Thanks, Ozempic for Ramadan.”
“And for those of you claiming this is the exact same product rebranding for a burgeoning Muslim demographic,” the narrator says, “that’s Islamophobic.”
Youssef is hosting tonight’s episode, with Travis Scott as musical guest. For video of the sketch, check back later.