Beyoncé At ‘SNL40’? No, That Was Just Maya Rudolph Being Flawless [Video]

One of the highlights of the mixed bag that was the SNL40 special was undoubtedly Maya Rudolph, alongside comedic actor and fellow Saturday Night Live veteran Martin Short.

After a genuinely funny monologue by Martin Short, where he revealed that he was only “Robert Blake” close to Lorne Michaels, he introduced the audience to Beyoncé.

Except it wasn’t Beyoncé — it was Maya Rudolph reprising her impersonation of the “Drunk in Love” singer.

A couple of things were immediately clear. First, Maya Rudolph is a hilariously convincing Beyoncé. Part of that was a great wig, and the other part is a rockin’ bod! The impersonation was so dead on that if you were watching the show out of the corner of your eye, you might have been briefly fooled by Rudolph.

But Maya Rudolph didn’t stop at simply strutting, posing, or Beyoncé-esque choreography. Aided by a mysterious wind from nowhere, Maya sang a parody version of Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love.” The wind worked for Rudolph as Beyoncé, but it worked against Martin Short in rather comedic fashion.

The pair shared the stage with various returning cast members, including Adam Sandler as Opera Man and Kristin Wiig and Fred Armisen as their characters Garth And Kat.

However, no one who appeared during the 15-minute long tribute to the SNL cast during their musical moments could come close to stealing Maya Rudolph’s thunder. The closest attempt came by way of Bill Murray in a loving tribute… to the shark from Jaws.

She was simply flawless as Beyoncé and refused to break character for pretty much the entire skit. That’s dedication! Of course, this is not the first time we’ve seen Maya Rudolph parody Beyoncé.

She first played the role of the popular singer in 2012, but SNL fans probably most remember the 2014 parody. This came after the infamous elevator fight, where Beyoncé’s younger sister Solange Knowles violently accosted Jay-Z. Even after all this time, the public still doesn’t know what led her to attack Beyoncé’s husband.

SNL jumped on the opportunity to offer an “explanation.”

Aside from the Beyoncé impersonation, even Beyoncé’s fans were featured in a skit on the show. The Beygency skit poked fun at the overly protective nature of Beyoncé fans.

Thus far, it seems Beyoncé fans have nothing but praise for Maya Rudolph and her performance on SNL40.

What did you think of Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé?

[Image Credit: Saturday Night Live YouTube]