Woody Harrelson takes a jab at COVID vaccine mandates in 'SNL' monologue

Woody Harrelson took aim at COVID vaccine mandates during his return to "Saturday Night Live."

Harrelson, 61, closed out his opening monologue Saturday discussing the "craziest script" he's ever read.

"So the movie goes like this… The biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy up all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes," he said. "And people can only come out if they take the cartel’s drugs and keep taking them over and over."

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Harrelson added: "I threw the script away. I mean, who was going to believe that crazy idea? Being forced to do drugs? I do that voluntarily all day."

The joke seemingly referenced lockdown measures in 2020 to stop the spread of COVID, as well as medically recommended vaccine booster shots.

As of Feb. 23, 69.3% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A September 2022 study by the CDC determined a primary series of the vaccine in addition to a booster was significantly more effective at preventing hospitalization than only a primary series. This applied to adults who are and are not immunocompromised.

Earlier in Harrelsons' opening monologue, he described himself as a "redneck hippie."

"You know, the red in me thinks you should be allowed to own guns," the actor said. "The blue in me thinks – squirt guns. So, I’m red and blue which makes purple. I’m purple."

Among other labels, he referred to himself as an "anarchist, Marxist, ethical hedonist, nondiscriminatory empath, epistemology deconstructionist, Texan."

Saturday marked Harrelson’s fifth hosting duty on "SNL," earning him entry to the coveted five-timer club.  He was awarded a jacket from Scarlett Johansson later in the show.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woody Harrelson's 'SNL' monologue includes COVID vaccine conspiracy