Paul Mescal used his “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig to debunk several “ugly” stereotypes about those from his native Ireland in the show’s opening monologue.
The “Gladiator II” star stated that he is “very proud to be Irish” and noted that they have been through “a lot.”
“Centuries of British occupation, the Great Famine, mass emigration, that U2 album that automatically downloaded on everyone’s phones,” Mescal joked.
He went on to clear up a number of ‘nasty’ rumors about the Irish, including the ‘offensive’ and ‘ridiculous’ claim that they have sex with their cousins.
“We have sex with our second cousins,” he joked.
“People also think the Irish hate the British people,” he added. “That’s not true, we just don’t consider them people.”
Mescal then turned his attention to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot and people asking him if he finds it ‘offensive’.
“Not at all, we do the same with the Americans. In fact, my high school mascot was the ‘Fighting Fat-Asses,'” Mescal said.
He also used the bit to make light of his fashion choices, while dismissing questions about whether Irish people wear kilts.
‘No, those are the Scots. Traditionally, the Irish wear shorts,” said Mescal, a self-described “great advocateof the look, said as he smiled as a picture of him in tiny shorts appeared on the screen.
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Watch more of the opening monologue below, which features a cameo from “SNL” cast member Marcello Hernandez in short shorts.
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