Lucy Liu made a surprise cameo on Saturday Night Live this weekend to save Christmas — or avenge it. She joined host Martin Short in a pre-recorded sketch parodying Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas. When things got too dark for Cindy Lou Who, she called in her sister, “Lucy Liu Who.”
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The sketch was ultimately cut for time, but was uploaded online shortly after SNL aired this weekend. It was a surprisingly straightforward take of the Grinch’s story for over a minute before things finally went off the rails. After the Grinch’s change of heart, he accidentally dropped the star from the top of the Christmas tree, impaling a Who and setting off a gory chain reaction. The punchline was a title card for “Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Grinch.”
Liu appeared dressed as her character O-Ren Ishii from Tarantino’s 2003 hit Kill Bill: Volume 1. She pulled a katana from the Who’s roast beast to “carve some Grinch, instead.” She cleaved his head off with one swing before getting in the final line: “To all a good night.”
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When this sketch hit the internet, fans were shocked that it was “cut for time.” One of the top comments on YouTube at the time of this writing reads: “It should be a crime to cut a sketch featuring Lucy Lui in a silk kimono.” Another says: “I can’t believe they got Lucy Liu to cameo on a sketch just to cut it. At least it’s alive on the internet.” Some even went so far as to speculate about how much Liu was paid for this appearance and how much the production cost, just to be dropped from the air.
This was Liu’s only appearance on SNL this weekend, so those who watched the live broadcast had no idea she made a cameo. It’s been a busy year for Liu, who racked up four film credits in 2024 including the Christmas movie Red One. She was also in the main cast of the Netflix original series A Man in Full, and in the voice-over cast of Netflix’s Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.
Still, according to IMDb Liu is still best known to most fans for her role in Kill Bill, and for other action roles of the early 2000s. She starred in Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle around the same time, along with the 2002 musical Chicago. Seeing O-Ren Ishii back in screen after all this time clearly had fans hyped, and many hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she reprised the role.
Saturday Night Live is streaming now on Peacock. Kill Bill is not included on any subscription-based streamers at the time of this writing, but it is available to rent or purchase on PVOD stores.
