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No one makes a cast crack quite like she does. Join us as we count down the funniest moments when Maya Rudolph's unstoppable comic genius caused her co-stars and scene partners to completely lose their composure! Whether on "Saturday Night Live," "Bridesmaids," or "The Good Place," Rudolph's commitment to the bit is truly unmatched. Which moment is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00Aw, you make me feel so alive. You are something else, Buster.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the funniest moments when Maya Rudolph's comic genius
00:12made her co-stars and scene partners lose their composure.
00:17What about me?
00:20Excuse me? Who are y'all?
00:2320. Christina Aguilera
00:26A few impossible vocal runs are enough to turn the news desk into a live comedy hazard.
00:32Maya arrives in full pop diva mode, answering Tina Fey's Grammy questions with breathy chatter, elastic melismas, and noises no
00:41anchor could reasonably translate.
00:43Now what about you? Your album didn't come out in time to be nominated, so how does that make you
00:47feel?
00:47Oh, you know, it's just... I don't know, I feel like...
00:58Faye initially plays the baffled straight-faced woman, but after one especially extravagant flourish, she can't help but crack up.
01:06Jimmy Fallon then joins the bit by pretending he can interpret every escalating note.
01:12M-W-W-E-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H!
01:17H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A-H-A!
01:17Hang on, Tina Tina, I...
01:20I think I understood that. She's-she's saying she is going to watch the awards this year.
01:24Rudolph never abandons the impression, even as Faye cracks beside her,
01:29proving that a perfectly timed vocal riff can be more dangerous than any written punchline.
01:35She also says that she heard all the jokes that you've been telling about her.
01:40You better watch your back.
01:43Biatch.
01:45Christina Aguilera, everybody!
01:47That and beautiful!
01:49Number 19, Colin Firth's monologue.
01:52Apparently, all it takes to charm Mr. Darcy is one aggressively misplaced Shakespearean cry.
01:59During a March 6, 2004 SNL episode, Amy Poehler first interrupts host Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennett,
02:07coaxing him into a pride and prejudice exchange.
02:10Mr. Darcy! You could not address me in any possible way that would induce me to accept you.
02:15Okay, I think I know this one. This is...
02:18Maya then arrives in Juliet's costume and bellows her opening appeal with glorious enthusiasm.
02:25So on with the show!
02:26Oh, Romeo, Romeo!
02:30Wherefore art thou, Romeo?
02:32Deny thy father and refuse thy name!
02:36Okay.
02:37The sudden volume and deliberately clunky delivery draw a visible smile from Firth before he greets her by name.
02:44She keeps pushing by stage whispering his cue from a book,
02:47refusing to soften the ridiculousness until he plays along with the scene.
02:52I take thee at thy word.
02:56Call me but love and I'll be new baptized.
02:59Oh, that was good.
03:01It is only a tiny crack, but that fleeting reaction shows how quickly Rudolph's full-throttle commitment
03:08could disarm even one of Britain's most composed leading men.
03:12Number 18, Jay-Z and Solange Cold Open.
03:15Damage control gets considerably less convincing once the family spokesperson begins singing her answers.
03:22For the season 39 finale of SNL, Jay Pharoah's Jay-Z and Sashir Zameda's Solange explain that the leaked elevator
03:30footage
03:31merely showed her battling a spider.
03:33I know, yup.
03:34Oh my god, there's a spider on you.
03:36What? Get it. You know I hate spiders.
03:38You keep moving.
03:39While Kenan Thompson's wary bodyguard keeps separating them.
03:44Maya then sweeps in as Beyoncé and turns her supposedly reassuring statement into a medley of familiar lyrical references.
03:51Last week, we was all at the med ball having a great time.
03:56We've been drinking watermelon.
04:01Thompson tries to maintain his stern protective pose,
04:05but her delivery has him repeatedly pursing his lips to keep a smile from escaping.
04:10So if you think I condone this invasion of privacy,
04:13then you must not know about me.
04:15You must not know about me.
04:17You must not know about me.
04:19Rudolph remains serenely committed,
04:22stretching every phrase as though she is headlining an arena rather than clarifying a family scandal.
04:28Even the designated peacekeeper cannot survive Queen Bee's dramatic spin control.
04:33Need an escape after that elevator ride?
04:35Step onto Miss Mojo's 24-7 live stream instead.
04:39Scan the QR code on the screen to join us live for non-stop pop culture fun.
04:43Number 17, How's He Doing?
04:46Political loyalty becomes comic ammunition in Rudolph's hands.
04:50In this talk show parody,
04:52Kenan Thompson moderates while Jay Pharoah's Ebony Magazine writer,
04:56Ronnie Williams,
04:57and Rudolph's Howard University professor,
04:59Althea Davis,
05:00debate what President Barack Obama would have to do to lose black voter support.
05:05Would President Obama lose your vote if he was caught cheating on Michelle?
05:09Nope.
05:10Ain't my business.
05:10Depends on who he's cheating with.
05:13Jennifer Hudson.
05:14I'm okay with that.
05:15Jennifer Lopez.
05:17Can't blame a man.
05:19Kim Kardashian.
05:20He ain't Superman.
05:21He's just the president.
05:22Rudolph keeps raising the stakes with Althea's emphatic reactions,
05:26especially while rationalizing increasingly outrageous hypothetical scandals.
05:31Pharoah's biggest wobble arrives during her memory of election night.
05:35I kissed a police dog in the mouth.
05:39I had an open house for a week.
05:41I wasn't selling my house.
05:42I just kept it open.
05:44People could just come and go as they pleased.
05:46I just stood in the middle of the living room like this.
05:51When she recalls holding a week-long open house,
05:54both Jay and Kenan inevitably break,
05:57while Rudolph remains completely unshaken.
06:04The mirror gag lands before either woman says a word.
06:08In the November 2nd, 2024 SNL cold open,
06:12Rudolph's version of Kamala Harris wishes she could consult someone who shares her background,
06:17prompting the real Kamala Harris to appear opposite her.
06:20Gosh, I just, I wish I could talk to someone who's been in my shoes, you know?
06:24A black, South Asian woman running for president,
06:28preferably from the Bay Area.
06:36The audience erupts,
06:38and Harris immediately beams at her double as Rudolph holds her pose.
06:42Their matching outfits and synchronized delivery turn the cameo into a playful routine,
06:48especially once the pair begin piling rhymes onto the politician's first name.
06:52The American people want to stop the chaos and end the dramala
06:58with a cool new step-mamala.
07:01Kick back in our pajamas and watch a Ram Kamala.
07:07Like Legally Blondala.
07:09Harris keeps smiling through nearly every exchange,
07:12while Rudolph stays impressively composed and guides them toward the closing catchphrase.
07:17I'm going to vote for us.
07:19Great.
07:20Any chance you are registered in Pennsylvania?
07:24Nope, I am not.
07:26Well, it was worth a shot.
07:28And live from New York is Saturday!
07:31Number 15.
07:33The Best of Titi and Mario
07:35A supposedly seductive compilation turns dangerous
07:39the moment its performers reveal what romance means to them.
07:42In this February 12th, 2005 commercial parody,
07:46Jason Bateman and Amy Poehler play a couple sampling the greatest hits of Rudolph's Titi
07:51and Kenan Thompson's Mario.
07:53You'll get songs like First Love.
08:00First love, first kiss, first that, now this.
08:09Their syrupy harmonies keep swerving into increasingly suggestive territory,
08:13but Rollerskate Love finally cracks the host.
08:17You are so beautiful.
08:19And you are my knight in shining armor.
08:22Let me put it in a little bit.
08:24Check the tip!
08:29That takes me back to my 8th grade dance.
08:32Wow.
08:32When the shot returns to Bateman by the fireside
08:35after one especially cheeky line,
08:37he lets out a broad grin before delivering his line about an 8th grade dance.
08:42Poehler looks increasingly confused by the songs,
08:45while Rudolph maintains the glazed sincerity of a forgotten disco star,
08:50making Bateman's delighted laughs even funnier.
08:53Number 14.
08:54Hot Ones with Beyoncé 2
08:56A rematch with spicy wings becomes an intense ordeal for everyone at the table.
09:01In this season 49 sketch,
09:04Rudolph's pop superstar Queen Bee returns determined to conquer
09:08the only challenge she has failed to slay.
09:10Where is my assistant DeRaffaele?
09:12Come here.
09:13I'm here for you, Bee.
09:15I need you to go on Google and search,
09:18is it possible to take someone's bones out their body,
09:23replace them with bones that are on fire, okay?
09:27I'll look into it, Bee.
09:29That confidence evaporates as the sauces leave her speaking in tongues,
09:33berating Mikey Day's Sean Evans,
09:35and summoning assistant DeRaffaele for increasingly desperate remedies.
09:40Kenan Thompson, who plays DeRaffaele,
09:42initially handles her request to research replacement bones with professional obedience.
09:47Later, however, she orders him to pump expensive lotion directly into her mouth.
09:56More? More? More? More?
10:08And the sheer absurdity finally gets him.
10:11Thompson fully breaks while carrying out the command,
10:14but Rudolph remains magnificently serious through the mess.
10:18Even the most loyal aide cannot survive this particular crisis management strategy.
10:2313. Kissing Family
10:26Brecken Brings His Boyfriend Home
10:28A medical emergency becomes the final test of composure in a sketch already built around boundary-smashing affection.
10:35In this Kissing Family skit, Andy Samberg's Brecken Vogelcheck introduces his boyfriend Matt, played by Taron Killam, to his extravagantly
10:43demonstrative relatives.
10:45Matt, no need you be shy around us, we do not bite.
10:47Yeah, your mom does, though.
10:49Will you tell your dad to stop teasing me?
10:56Kate McKinnon's Grandma Vogelcheck later collapses after seeing Michael Sam kiss his partner during the NFL Draft broadcast.
11:05Enter Rudolph as her nurse who treats CPR as another excuse for the family's signature behavior.
11:11What? All my heavens! All!
11:13Mrs. Vogelcheck!
11:15Hey, Santa!
11:21One, two, three, four!
11:27After an attempt at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Rudolph launches into wildly unorthodox chest compressions.
11:35McKinnon immediately smiles, visibly breaking character as Rudolph keeps working with total urgency.
12:00After everything this household has survived, an over-committed first responder finally cracks its eldest member.
12:07Number 12, Bronx Beat.
12:09An otherwise routine return to character comedy starts wobbling when a dramatic sobbing fit becomes a little too convincing.
12:17I went to the drugstore to pick up my son's ADD medication.
12:20Then Gary ate stew beef right out of the crockpot and fell asleep on the futon in the bonus room
12:24in a cloud of his own cold medicine farts.
12:28In this season 37 revival of Bronx Beat, Amy Poehler's Betty and Rudolph's Jodie resume their lively back and forth.
12:36As Rudolph works herself into a crying spell, she appears to become genuinely choked up.
12:41Poehler reaches for the mug, only to discover it is bone dry.
12:56And the absurdity of the empty assist sends her into laughter as Rudolph briefly joins her.
13:02Poehler's visible loss of composure turns the moment into a delightful little derailment.
13:08Number 11, Fight Scene Bloopers.
13:10Some arguments are simply too ridiculous to survive a full take.
13:14Yeah!
13:19So awesome.
13:21In the Bridesmaids' gag reel, a confrontation between Annie and Lillian at the bridal shower veers into a wildly personal
13:28territory as they argue over Helen, played by Rose Byrne.
13:32You know what? This is supposed to be about my time.
13:35You have managed to ruin every event in my wedding. Thank you very much.
13:39Okay, well, thank you very much. It's all her fault. It is not mine.
13:43Lillian answers Annie's resentment toward Helen with an outrageously specific comparison between the two women.
13:49And Wig's in-character fury instantly dissolves into out-of-character laughter.
13:54You're mad at her because her asshole is white?
13:56Yes, that's why I'm mad at her. No!
13:59You're so miserable with your dark and hairy natural asshole!
14:03Oh, well, let me tell you something.
14:05Well, mine isn't hairy, but...
14:08Wait, let's keep going, let's keep going.
14:10Maya cracks too, leaving both performers unable to continue the fight.
14:14The moment is especially funny because the finished scene rests on real hurt.
14:18Behind the scenes, however, Wig and Rudolph's chemistry keeps puncturing the hostility,
14:24turning one of the film's ugliest arguments into a delighted collapse.
14:28Number 10. The Californian's Karina Returns, Saturday Night Live.
14:33This recurring sketch on SNL is known for its convoluted plots and exaggerated accents,
14:39all of which often lead to cast breaks.
14:41Get out of here, Devin! Karina and I need to peel in.
14:46What if I'm just quiet?
14:52So get out of here!
14:53In the Karina Returns installment, Maya Rudolph pops up at the last minute as Stuart's mistress, Keetha.
15:00From the moment Rudolph opens her mouth,
15:02her nearly incomprehensible accent and hilarious facial expressions
15:06make Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig crack up.
15:09I'm Keetha.
15:11What are you doing at our Spanish doll, Mene Mancha?
15:16Why don't you start that?
15:18Both performers struggle to maintain their composure,
15:21as Rudolph delivers every line with breathy intensity and exaggerated emotion,
15:26and she also manages to set off Bill Hader, who can be seen breaking in the mirror.
15:30This hour? Not in your life.
15:34The 405 is gonna be totally jammed,
15:41watching everyone, including Rudolph herself, try to hold it together at the end just elevates the whole sketch.
15:47Number 9. IHOP scene with Mark Evan Jackson, The Good Place
15:51As the all-powerful Judge Jen, Maya Rudolph brings a relaxed chaos to The Good Place
15:57that regularly catches her scene partners off-guard.
16:00In this scene from the third season with Mark Evan Jackson's Sean,
16:03her laid-back delivery clashes hilariously with his rigid menace.
16:08What is this?
16:08The new information has come to my attention and I need a solution.
16:12I want the bad place to weigh in on this.
16:14But first, let's have a change of scenery.
16:16While the version that made the final cut is relatively seamless,
16:20the bloopers tell a different story.
16:22Rudolph continuously improvises lines that gradually push Jackson until he finally breaks into laughter.
16:40Even when he manages to remain in character, you can see how close he is to cracking.
16:45Maya's strength here is making divine absurdity feel effortless,
16:49which destabilizes anyone trying to play it straight.
16:52Humans might be, on average, better than the point system suggests they are.
16:58Counterpoint, humans are terrible.
17:00Limp Bizkit, slavery, the prosecution rests.
17:04Gotta say that's a solid rebuttal.
17:06Number 8, Abba Christmas, Saturday Night Live.
17:09Even years after leaving SNL,
17:12Maya Rudolph continues to return to remind everyone of her undeniable comedic power.
17:17The wise men praying that you give a twirl
17:21On the dance floor saying that we love you, girl
17:28When Kate McKinnon made her hosting debut,
17:31Rudolph appeared throughout the episode,
17:33most notably in the Abba Christmas sketch.
17:36Playing a ridiculous version of Bjorn Ulvaeus from the iconic pop group,
17:40Rudolph's increasingly exaggerated Swedish accent
17:43had her fellow cast members visibly crumbling.
17:46Three days? She's super depressed!
17:57As she performed alongside McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and Bowen Yang,
18:01Rudolph's commitment to the characters' over-the-top pronunciations
18:04and bizarre dance moves pushed everyone to their breaking point.
18:08There was no saving Yang from breaking when Rudolph pressed her face next to his
18:12and unleashed a barrage of aggressively silly expressions.
18:22Number 7, Shia and Maya, Saturday Night Live.
18:26When Shia LaBeouf hosted SNL for the first time in 2007,
18:30he was paired with Maya Rudolph for a bizarre sketch
18:32built solely on their rhyming first names.
18:35Come on, don't be Shia, get it?
18:38I just made that up right now, off the cuff.
18:41Wow, that's really good.
18:42Actually, I was lying, Shia.
18:44I've had that joke for two weeks now,
18:46and I nailed it.
18:48In the bit, LaBeouf finds himself ensnared backstage by Rudolph,
18:52who tries repeatedly to seduce him with a series of increasingly absurd things.
18:57Rudolph pulls every trick in her bag to break LaBeouf,
19:00including pressing her nose against his while she confesses her desire.
19:04But the Transformers actor manages to hold it together.
19:09Oh, Shia!
19:12You make me feel like a schoolgirl again.
19:16However, it is only when Rudolph loses her cool
19:19at an interrupting crew member that she succeeds in getting LaBeouf to crack.
19:22Let me tell you something, woman.
19:24Hey, Shia, we need to...
19:24Get out of here!
19:25Come on!
19:26Get out of here!
19:27Get out of here!
19:28Get out of here!
19:32Listen.
19:37As an older woman who goes shopping for underwear with her nephew,
19:41Maya Rudolph steals this sketch by leaning all the way in.
19:44Hey, are we finding everything all right, folks?
19:47Look, man, can you just help her find some granny panties, please?
19:50I mean, her size is big and square.
19:52With Kenan Thompson as her nephew and Jessica Simpson playing an overly polished sales associate,
19:58Rudolph bulldozes their discomfort with blunt phrasing and relentless follow-ups about covering
20:03her business.
20:04Thompson visibly struggles as Rudolph keeps escalating the phrasing and has to look away
20:09to prevent himself from fully breaking character.
20:24Her ability to repeat the same joke while finding new rhythms each time pushes the performers
20:30around her to the brink, especially when she attempts to try on a pair of panties handed
20:35to her by Simpson.
20:36Open up them golden gates.
20:41Pull her up.
20:42Here we go.
20:43Alley-oop.
20:45Alley-oop.
20:46Number 5.
20:47Car Scene Bloopers with Kristen Wiig
20:49Bridesmaids
20:50Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig have proven to be an exceptional comedic duo, both on SNL
20:56and other TV shows and movies.
20:58When they reunited on 2011's Bridesmaids, it was the perfect environment for their incredible
21:03chemistry to flourish.
21:05Are we okay?
21:06Yes.
21:07I'm sorry I haven't called.
21:08I just didn't want to bug you.
21:11Please.
21:11No, forgive me.
21:11It just got crazy.
21:13It's just been lots of organizing.
21:15The car scenes between the two performers generated some of the film's most authentic
21:20laughs because much of it wasn't acting.
21:22In the blooper reel, we see Rudolph and Wiig filming a scene where they are driving and improvising
21:27offhand remarks, feeding off each other in real time.
21:31Your muscles are getting bigger and your fat is disappear.
21:34Your metabolism is rising.
21:36Their long-standing friendship makes these moments even looser, with Maya clearly enjoying
21:41how easily she can derail the scene.
21:44It's a reminder that the funniest moments don't always make the final cut.
21:48Shake your pussy.
21:51Shake it!
21:53Number 4.
21:55Super Showcase Spokesmodels
21:57Saturday Night Live
21:58Speaking of the comedic chemistry between Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig, the two reunited
22:03yet again on the 37th season of SNL, when Rudolph returned to host.
22:08Their synergy was notably put on display in this sketch, where they played Shonda and Vonda,
22:13two overly dramatic spokesmodels trying and failing to describe the prizes in a game show.
22:18Bad news, Debra.
22:20You didn't win his and hers matching luggage by luggage guy.
22:23It's not luggage guy luggage.
22:24It's just a bunch of luggage from someplace.
22:27You ought to be the talk of baggage claim.
22:28With luggage, good baggage.
22:30After riding in on a golf cart, Wiig and Rudolph can barely stay in character, and their antics
22:35eventually cause Bill Hader, who plays the game show host, to break.
22:39It's always time for claw and frog clucks.
22:47That wasn't supposed to happen.
22:49While Hader completely crumbles in the scene, Vanessa Bayer manages to make it through without
22:54cracking even once, which may be the most impressive feat of the entire sketch.
22:59It's a nurse matching golf club by golf club guy.
23:09Number 3, The Mediator Scene Bloopers, Life of the Party.
23:13What is that smell?
23:15It's probably garlic and dial, a little mayo.
23:20I had an Italian sandwich.
23:22This 2018 comedy stars Maya Rudolph as Christine Davenport, the neurotic best friend of Melissa
23:28McCarthy's character, Deanna, who returns to her daughter's college to complete her degree
23:33after getting a divorce.
23:34In this scene, Deanna and her ex-husband try to settle their differences with the help of
23:39a mediator, but they remain incapable of reaching common ground.
23:43This is not helping our process.
23:45There is no probable cause to implicate this witness.
23:48I move to dismiss.
23:50The scene in the final cut is hilarious enough, but the bloopers take it even further.
23:54One particular moment sees Rudolph drop a line so unexpected and perfectly delivered that
24:00her scene partners, McCarthy, Julie Bowen, and Matt Walsh all burst out laughing.
24:09Seeing such heavy hitters crack uncontrollably only underscores how effortlessly Rudolph lifts
24:15every scene she's in.
24:16Number 2, Whitney Houston on Weekend Update, Saturday Night Live.
24:20Throughout her seven-year tenure on SNL, Maya Rudolph delivered a host of unforgettable
24:25celebrity impressions, but few were as delightfully unhinged as her take on Whitney Houston.
24:31Oh, oh, oh, oh, Amy Poehler, everybody, can I get a what, what?
24:35All right.
24:36Okay, there we go.
24:37Okay.
24:38Rudolph appears as the legendary singer in this Weekend Update segment to share her summer
24:43plans.
24:44Almost right off the bat, she mistakenly refers to Amy Poehler as Seth Meyers, a slip that immediately
24:50causes both co-anchors to break.
24:52So, what are you doing for the summer, Mrs. Houston?
24:54Funny you should ask, Seth Meyers.
24:57Of course.
25:02First I'm going to lay by the pool, Seth Meyers.
25:05Once Poehler loses her composure, it's hard for her to fully regain it, and even the smallest
25:10things Rudolph does afterwards causes her to break even more.
25:14You got something out?
25:15It's going to be a mess.
25:16All right.
25:19Wow, look at that.
25:21Going all the way back.
25:22Rudolph's committed physicality and vocal performance made it nearly impossible for
25:27the update anchors to resist laughing.
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25:54Number 1.
25:56Choreographers.
25:57Saturday Night Live.
25:58It's always a masterclass in controlled chaos when Maya Rudolph steps into a sketch.
26:03And is that Richard Pequest?
26:05No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
26:08Can you cut it?
26:09Does not work with Richard Pequest.
26:10Playing one half of a bickering choreographer duo opposite Kenan Thompson, she turns a simple
26:16dance rehearsal into a passive-aggressive battlefield.
26:19When Rudolph starts showing off her moves in a bid to get hired over Thompson, she sends
26:24everyone in the room into fits of laughter.
26:27Does this answer your question?
26:28Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.
26:32Cook.
26:34All right.
26:35That is it, Katankin.
26:37Even Lauren Holt and Beck Bennett, who aren't visible in the moment, eventually reveal that
26:43they had also been breaking when the camera later cuts to them.
26:46And you'd see everything?
26:49Yes, show it to me again.
26:52I want to beat with you.
26:55Okay.
26:56It's a classic example of Rudolph committing so hard to the bit that everyone else nearly
27:01collapses under the pressure.
27:03Which Maya Rudolph performance do you think deserves way more love?
27:07Give your most underrated pick a shout-out in the comments.
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