Did the American Sketch Comedy Show SNL Featuring Lady Gaga Mock Hinduism? Here's The Truth

Tue Mar 11 18:55:57 IST 2025

Lady Gaga recently appeared on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live aka SNL and a sketch from the episode is now viral on social media with many Indians claiming that she and the show was mocking Hinduism.

In the sketch, Lady Gaga can be seen performing mock satanic rituals while one of the comedians on the show is dressed as a Hindu priest screaming, “Kaali Maa Shakti De

”.

As the clip went viral, many Indians started taking offence over the portrayal of Hinduism. Sharing the clip, one social media user wrote, “Saturday Night Live performed a satanic ritual on television. Ok, so that’s normal for American TV these days, but what isn’t normal is that this particular satanic ritual dressed up with mostly Hindu chants. The sketch “Friendly’s Birthday Gone Wrong” (which mostly functioned as an advert for Lady Gaga’s new album), sees a “Mola Ram” character torturing someone for lying about their birthday while chanting “Om Namah Shivaay” and “Kali Maa” before ripping her heart out and serving it to her friends for dessert.”

Check out the clip and the entire sketch below:

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Reacting to the same, one social media user wrote, “I'm not offended kyunki Christmas pe "mera Yasu yasu" pe vibe kr raha tha”.

Another commented, “This is I guess a funny take of an Indiana Jones movie”.

A third user wrote, “Yes they are. Because it is ridiculous”.

Check out some of the responses below:

The Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Spoof

Not many seem to have been aware that the sketch is not mocking Hinduism but a spoof on Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom which was the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise featuring Harrison Ford in the lead role.

Check out the original clip below:

The film featured legendary Amrish Puri as the main villain named Mola Ram who was leader of a cult satanic group in India.

Indian Jones 2 was a big success worldwide but faced controversy in India that led to a temporary ban. It wasn’t released in many theatres in India due to its depiction related to Hindu rituals.