On Saturday, November 12, NBC’s Saturday Night Live opened their show in a manner that was unexpected by all those watching: Instead of discussing the election, as was anticipated, SNL opened with a tribute to Leonard Cohen. Since SNL is known for its election humor, this episode was the most watched of the season in anticipation for the show’s reaction to the election, according to Today. The cast of SNL consists of a very diverse group of individuals who all believed that the country was moving in the right direction by electing the first female president. However, due to the fact that the show is held in New York City, an area that is consistently heavily Democratic, they, along with many other Americans, believed that most of the country had similar political opinions as them.

One of SNL‘s most beloved cast members Kate McKinnon dressed up as her most popular role of Hillary Clinton, sat at the piano, and sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” The heartwrenching performance evoked sadness from those mourning the loss of the treasured musician and those disheartened by the election results. There were tears in the corners of McKinnon’s eyes, which showed that most of those on SNL never expected that Donald Trump would be president. After her performance, McKinnon turned to the audience and said “I’m not giving up, and neither should you. And live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”

SNL‘s decision to not directly address the election results was respective. They took the path that would anger the least amount of people while sending the message to the American people to unite and recognize each other’s differences. They are setting an example of rising above the situation, and that the world can still progress in the right direction if we choose to not give up.