Def Ted Talks: Watch SNL sketch cut from the Cameron Diaz episode (VIDEO).

Watch the Cut SNL Sketch That Skewers Def Comedy Jam and TED Talks

Watch the Cut SNL Sketch That Skewers Def Comedy Jam and TED Talks

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Slate's Culture Blog
Nov. 25 2014 9:04 PM

The Cut SNL Sketch That Skewers Def Comedy Jam and TED Talks

deftedjam

Still from Hulu

SNL recently began uploading cut sketches online, an interesting trend that, depending on the sketch in question, provides either fodder for haters or a fun glimpse of the show’s weirder, more experimental material. The latest is “Def TED Talks,” a short written by Michael Che and Bryan Tucker that, as the name suggests, parodies both Def Comedy Jam and TED talks.

The talks themselves are hit-and-miss—host Cameron Diaz flops, while Sasheer Zamata and Bobby Moynihan triumph—but Jay Pharoah’s brilliant impression of Russell Simmons and the cast’s amusing, faux-naive takeaways (“I was educated!,” “It really helps you see the world in a different way!”) make this work.

Sharan Shetty is on the editorial staff of the New Yorker. You can follow him on Twitter