SNL Mocks Kevin O’Leary’s Utah AI Data Center on Weekend Update

While public opposition to artificial intelligence infrastructure grows nationwide, Saturday Night Live turned its satirical lens toward Utah during its October 10 broadcast. Cast member James Austin Johnson stepped up to the Weekend Update desk in character as Canadian businessman and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary to defend the controversial Stratos project.

The Sketch and the Public Divide

The segment opened with anchor Colin Jost citing a poll showing that 75 percent of Americans oppose having an AI data center built near them. Stepping into character as the investor widely known as Mr. Wonderful, Johnson offered an unapologetic defense of the proposed 40,000-acre facility in Box Elder County, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

All I want is to buy up 40,000 acres of God’s untouched splendor, and replace it with a very loud computer that steals your job, Johnson told Jost. When Jost noted that residents do not want data centers near their homes, the fake O’Leary joked that those people’s lives, those are Sims.

Lawsuits and Local Opposition

The comedy routine touched on real-world tensions surrounding the Stratos project, including legal battles and local polling. Jost questioned the sketch’s subject about a defamation lawsuit O’Leary is facing from activists protesting the development. The real O’Leary previously claimed that opposition to his project was funded by China, prompting a lawsuit and a subsequent motion to dismiss filed by his lawyers last month.

On the ground in Utah, opposition remains high. A survey released this month by Utah State University’s Community and Natural Resources Institute showed that 76 percent of Utahns do not want more data centers built in the state.

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