Latest news with #MissEggy
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Food allergies are soaring, and hundreds of moms are fed up with ‘dangerous' jokes about them
Following a Saturday Night Live skit that mocked people with peanut allergies, suggesting they should just 'take a Benadryl' and shut up, moms of the severely allergic have been speaking out on social media. Such jokes, they say, gaslight people with allergies and contribute to bullying that can turn deadly. 'Satire is so powerful—it can highlight social flaws. But to us, there's blind spot about food allergies to begin with, and this type of joke just magnifies it,' Lianne Mandelbaum, mom to a 19-year-old son with a deadly peanut allergy and founder of the advocacy nonprofit the No Nut Traveler, tells Fortune. Today, 33 million Americans are living with food allergies—representing one in 10 adults and one in 13 children, according to Food Allergy Research & Education. Of those adults, 51% have experienced a severe reaction, while 42% of the children have, with emergency room visits for such reactions more than doubling between 2008 and 2016. And its prevalence among children has been on the rise for decades—up by 100 percent between 1997 and 2021. It's why SNL's Instagram post of the skit—featuring recurring character Miss Eggy on a tirade about airplane food, including a complaint about how peanuts are no longer served—has racked up over 2,200 comments, a great many of them sharing personal experiences with allergies and calling out the joke as 'unbelievable,' 'ridiculous,' 'ignorant,' and 'dangerous,' particularly in light of it being National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. NBC did not respond to a request for comment. Mandelbaum's posts on the joke, featuring a photo of her son holding a sign that says, 'My food allergy is NOT funny,' have racked up more than 300 comments across her social channels. In it, she writes, 'I've seen my child's life almost slip away after a peanut exposure. I've given epinephrine while my hands shook. I've begged strangers for compassion in places where help was far away. This isn't a joke. It never was.' As one commenter on the SNL post points out, 'Allergies are not a choice, and the fear when you're at 35000 ft on a plane when you have an allergy is real! The more that anaphylaxis is made out to be humorous the more dangerous it is …More compassion is needed!' A severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, is a serious, rapid-onset reaction to an allergen—be it food, medicine, latex, insect bites, or something else—in which your body's immune system sees something as harmful and reacts, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Symptoms may include itching, swelling of the lips or throat, shortness of breath, dizziness, or stomach pain, and can lead to death if not treated promptly with an injection of epinephrine (typically through an Epi-Pen). Further treatment may also be necessary. Taking an antihistamine like Benadryl, as Miss Eggy suggested in her skit, is not considered a first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, and the idea that Benadryl will stop anaphylaxis is a myth, according to the Allergy & Asthma Network. In fact, the first thought Mandelbaum had upon hearing the joke was about a 13-year-old girl who died of a peanut allergy reaction back in 2013; she was given Benadryl first, and then epinephrine, but it was too late. After the SNL skit aired, Mandelbaum heard from the girl's mother, who told her, 'I can't believe that myth is still being perpetuated 12 years after she died.' At least one commenter on Mandelbaum's Facebook post—a mom of kids with serious allergies—could take the joke, and felt it was important to be able to laugh at the situation. Comedian Judy Gold, author of the book Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, agrees. 'We need to laugh now more than ever,' she tells Fortune. 'No comedian, when writing their jokes, is thinking about your personal issues or childhood traumas, they're trying to get a laugh. Do you really think she is saying, 'I want kids to be hurt or die from an allergic reaction'? No. It is a parody. She is doing a character. Ego Nwodim [the actress] has a degree in biology.' But, notes Mandelbaum, 'This isn't about being simply offended. It's about speaking up when repeated jokes normalize ignorance that can cost lives. If your lived experience with allergies is different, that's valid—but it doesn't negate the very real danger others face every day.' Such jokes, she says, lead to taunting and bullying in the real world, whether on airplanes or at workplaces or schools—as was the case in Texas last year, when a teen football player's locker was stuffed with peanuts by his teammates, who knew he was deathly allergic (the mom has sued the school district). Years before, teens were charged with purposely exposing a girl to pineapple, knowing she had a severe allergy to the fruit. One in three kids with food allergies say they've faced bullying because of it, according to a recent study, including by having an allergen waved in their face, thrown at them, or intentionally put in their food. For airline travelers, even adults, bullying is a constant threat, too. That's according to a 2024 study out of Northwestern's Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, which found that 98% of allergic fliers have anxiety on planes because they don't know how they will be treated. And 31% chose to stay silent about their allergy because of fears it would be ill-received. Jokes like SNL's, maintains Mandelbaum, do not help. 'People have been incredibly kind to my son and looked after him, but other people are just not as fortunate,' she says, 'and we have to stick up for everybody… This is a real-life disability.' More on parenting: Modern parenting is hurting kids and adults, 'Anxious Generation' author warns The 4 basic parenting styles—and what science says about which is best Clues into Gen Z parenting styles can be found in their approach to these two powerful elements This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘SNL's Weekend Update Sees Triumphant Return Of Ego Nwodim's Crowd-Pleasing Alter Ego Miss Eggy (No FCC Slip-Ups This Time)
Miss Eggy is back and men ain't what? Amid a whirlwind Season 50 finale episode featuring a traditional Weekend Update joke swap, the Saturday Night Live anchor desk also saw the triumphant return of crowd favorite Miss Eggy, an ebullient and pun-filled comedic alter ego of MVP Ego Nwodim's. More from Deadline 'Saturday Night Live' Opens With 'Fake' Donald Trump Defending Qatar's 'Gift' Of A Jumbo Jet — An Hour After The Real POTUS Did The Same 'SNL' May Avoid FCC Probe Over 'Sh*t' Talk From Studio Audience During Weekend Update Skit Weekend Update Joke Swap Sees Michael Che Atone For Scarlett Johansson Joke As Colin Jost Comes For Lorne Michaels' Throne: "Retire B*tch" This time, the comedienne was asked back to comment on Newark's airport safety, acting out a bit while on a JetBlue flight. 'You know her, you love her, you got her fined by the FCC,' Jost introduced, as Nwodim's character quickly got down to brass tacks about the real problem plaguing travel: bad airplane cuisine. Ever the wordsmith and whip-smart as always, Miss Eggy refused the butternut squash ravioli, telling the attendant, 'more like, better-not offer me that mess 'till you put some meat in it,' punctuating the statement with her signature 'sucka!' She added in a separate one-liner about dry Biscoff cookies: 'More like you about to piss a bisc-off.' Another top contender: 'Flight attendant saying the only sandwich they got on this plane is a turkey pesto on ciabatta. All I know is this bitch ci-boutta lose her life. That bread was harder than my man when I get out the tub; his name's Maurice, but I call him Tray, because he stay in the upright and locked position.' Miss Eggy's other gripe? 'And y'all went and took peanuts off the plane because everybody wanna have an allergy. If you don't take a Benadryl and shut your gay ass up.' 'And how about that TSA, huh? Putting on them Papa Smurf gloves, thinking they can feel me up just because I got a gun,' she said, as she prompted the audience for another call-and-response. While the crowd accurately shouted-out earlier that Miss Eggy don't 'play,' it was remiss to respond 'strapped' when she asked, 'Cause Miss Eggy stay what?' Nwodim concluded her time with a truly terrific Eggs Benedict pun, and based on audience response, it seems the midsize bag-carrying problematic auntie comic is welcome to the anchor desk anytime. Watch the bit above. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far
The Independent
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Saturday Night Live censors audience profanities during Ego Nwodim's Weekend Update segment
Saturday Night Live made sure to remove a brief moment of audience swearing from the latest episode's live broadcast before it was rebroadcasted. During the Weekend Update segment, co-host Colin Jost welcomed fellow cast member Ego Nwodim to comment on the White House Correspondents' Dinner organizers' controversial decision to axe Amber Ruffin from the comedy slot at the forthcoming event to avoid 'politics of division.' 'I'm just gonna come out and say it. They should let me do the White House Correspondents' Dinner,' Nwodim declared, explaining that each year comedians ruffle feathers by 'talking trash' about the White House and media rather than making fun of the dinner itself. After Jost argued that an entire comedy set couldn't just be about the food, Nwodim got up to prove him wrong. Going on to crack several jokes about the 'rank' and 'bland' food, she then brought out her stand-up persona, Miss Eggy, to serve up a few more quips. 'Miss Eggy just trynna get fed, get some, and get that Uber home. The hell?!' she said, continuing on about how sex is 'a little different after 50.' 'Miss Eggy go over easy,' she added. 'And Cory Booker out here with his fillibuster. Shoot,' Nwodim began, referring to the New Jersey Senator's recent record-breaking 25-hour anti-Trump Senate speech. 'I had my fill of busters. Because these men ain't what?' she asked, prompting the studio audience to respond with a unanimous: 'S***.' The crowd's unexpected reply left Nwodim, Jost, and co-host Michael Che in complete shock. 'We finna get fined for that,' Nwodim said, noting the correct response she had been looking for was 'worth a damn.' 'Y'all gonna have to pay for that. Lorne's gonna be mad at y'all,' she warned. 'In conclusion, thank you White House for having a b****.' In both the uploaded version of the sketch on YouTube and the streaming version out now on Peacock, the crowd's one-word profanity has been bleeped out and the audio has been entirely cut. Elsewhere during the episode — hosted by Jack Black and featuring musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile — James Austin Johnson spoofed President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement in which he detailed his widespread tariffs. Taking the stage dressed as Trump, the comedian promised to make 'Make America Great Depression Again.' 'Thank you all for coming out to hear about tariffs. My favorite word, tariff, which, of course, is short for a-terrific-idea,' said Johnson's Trump, calling the tax on Americans the 'backbone of my incredible plan for our economy.' 'It's actually even better than a plan, because it's a series of random numbers, like the numbers on the computer screen in Severance,' he added. 'You have no idea what the hell they mean, but I know what the numbers mean … They mean we're gonna make America wealthy again. You know you're gonna check your stock portfolio in a couple days and think 'I'm almost too wealthy.'' But before all that, the president said, 'We're going to do MAGDA — Make America Great Depression Again … It'll be better than great. It'll be a fantastic, unbelievable depression, the likes of which have never been seen before.'
