Kash Patel
Kash Patel @Kash_Patel/X

Aziz Ansari returned to Saturday Night Live on Saturday, 9 May, with a sketch branding Kash Patel a 'kid with fake ID' and mocking his 18‑year age gap with girlfriend Alexis Wilkins during the NBC show's cold open.

For context, the episode was hosted by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, with Noah Kahan as musical guest. The cold open took place in a fictional Washington, D.C. bar, where Colin Jost played Secretary of War Pete Hegseth meeting Damon's Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Ansari's Kash Patel to complain about their lives and jobs.

Kid With Fake ID Gag Targets Kash Patel Age Gap

The news came after Jost and Damon's characters shared drinks on screen before Ansari's version of Patel arrived as FBI Director, eyes exaggeratedly wide. In the sketch, Patel immediately launched into a monologue about his private life, telling the others, 'My girlfriend wants to open up our relationship.' The line was presented as a joke about Kash Patel's real‑life relationship with country singer Alexis Wilkins, who is 18 years younger than him.

Ansari's Patel went on, 'We're all living the American dream. I'm the first person in my family to go to college... parties... many years after graduating.' Damon's Kavanaugh responded by asking, 'Is that rumor true that you make everyone in the FBI take a polygraph?' continuing the show's cartoon version of senior officials casually abusing power.

Ansari then replied, 'No, I told them to make a graph of everyone in the FBI who's poly. My girlfriend wants to open up our relationship. She said she wants to bring other dudes in the bedroom and for me to stay in the living room.' The repetition kept Patel's love life at the centre of the bit rather than his work history, turning the age‑gap relationship into recurring material in the barroom exchange.

Earlier in the skit, Jost mocked Hegseth's heavy drinking habits, describing 'a shot of beer with a pint of whiskey' at the bar. Damon, reprising his 2018 role as Kavanaugh, told a story about failing a sobriety test where he 'couldn't make a circle,' playing off long‑running allegations about Kavanaugh's drinking.

Jost's character tried to console him after he ordered Bud Lights, saying, 'At least you knew it was a shape.' He then complained, 'I worked so heard on this Iran war. I'm just scared it's going to end.' Damon's Kavanaugh replied, 'You know what the real war is. The real war. It's the war against male loneliness,' before dropping his head, setting up the idea of three isolated, self‑pitying men in power.

'I used to have all my buddies to hang out with,' Damon continued. 'I just wish there was more people in this administration who could really hang.' At that point, Ansari's Kash Patel burst into the scene shouting, 'Does this bar take cash?' and pulled out a bottle.

He yelled, 'I made my own FBI bourbon with my name on it. Yes. Somehow, this is a real thing. That I, the real FBI director, has made,' spoofing self‑branding and side hustles as part of his persona. He then leaned back into the personal mockery that tied the sketch to the 'kid with fake ID' headline.

Before screwing up his face, he added, 'I bring my own alcohol to bars because sometime they think I'm a kid with the fake ID. They say no adult would make this face an official photo.' The gag underscored the idea of Patel being treated as too young for the room while, in reality, dating a woman nearly two decades younger. The skit ended with Damon, Jost and Ansari singing Chumbawamba's 'Tubthumping'.

Kash Patel Age Gap Jokes Split Viewers

The skit produced mixed reactions online. On X, one viewer wrote, 'Tired of the Pete Hegseth skits on SNL. Go back to doing Trump.' Another complained, 'Hegseth and Kavanaugh derangement syndrome all in one. This show is sad.' A third called the sketch 'diabolical' and predicted 'people are gonna go crazy with gifs of that', while another user declared, 'Man, SNL is excruciatingly bad now.'

There was also praise. One person described Jost, Damon and Ansari as 'The unholy Trinity' in the cold open. Another posted, 'Matt Damon is hosting snl. At last someone I've heard of. Great cold opening w/ Aziz Ansari & Damon. Worth a look.' A different viewer wrote, 'Have to admit... one of the best cold opens in awhile. Can't wait to rewatch.'

The age‑gap material connected the parody to Patel's real relationship. Patel, 45, has been dating Wilkins since 2023 after first meeting her at a conservative ReAwaken America event in October 2022. In an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, Wilkins said what attracted her to him was that he was 'so honest'. She added, 'We both are very patriotic, so obviously there are things there that we definitely agree on.'

Patel Pushes Back as Age Gap Mockery Grows

Patel previously responded to criticism of his girlfriend being 18 years younger than him. In early December, he posted on X that he could accept personal attacks but drew a line at abuse aimed at people around him. 'I've always said — criticize me all you want. But going after the people doing great work, my personal life, or those around me is a total disgrace,' he wrote.

He followed up with another message, saying, 'The disgustingly baseless attacks against Alexis — a true patriot and the woman I'm proud to call my partner in life — are beyond pathetic.' Those comments were aimed at earlier online criticism, not at the latest SNL sketch, but they show how he views jabs at Wilkins and their relationship.

The new cold open folded that ongoing scrutiny into prime‑time comedy, turning Patel into a punchline about a 'kid with fake ID' and a much younger girlfriend. With the clip now ricocheting across social media, an argument over where satire ends and personal mockery begins is likely to follow suit.

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