Nikki Glaser faces backlash for sex trafficking, pedophilia jokes in ‘SNL’ monologue

Nikki Glaser came under fire after she poked fun at sex trafficking and pedophilia in her “Saturday Night Live” opening monologue.

The standup comedian started her nearly 9-minute skit on the NBC network, welcoming everyone to New York City, which she labeled as convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s “original island.”

She then jokingly admitted to being “obsessed with slavery recently,” while discussing nail salon workers and human trafficking warning signs in bathrooms.

“You can go to the nail salon with a friend, but you get separated at the border,” Glaser, 41, said. “They do not let you sit next to each other. It’s so antisocial.

“You’re just sitting there watching ‘Beat Bobby Flay’ on mute. You can’t talk to the woman doing your nails because … slavery? I don’t know! She seems stuck and sad.”

Touching on women’s restrooms, she added, “Every time you go … to a public women’s restroom and you sit in the stall, there’s always a poster on the back of the stall that’s asking you if you’re being trafficked.”

Glaser continued, “They’re in every stall. They’re in every world language. The English is really tiny and it’s like, ‘You wish.’”

The TV personality explained that the signs weren’t in men’s bathrooms, saying, “You have signs that are like, ‘Want a slave? Text Traffick to 69-69.’”

She also shared how Gen Z’s “big fear” is being “terrified” of becoming a victim of trafficking, while she “feared good old-fashioned rape” when she was in her 20s.

“I didn’t think it would be a career,” Glaser said. “We didn’t think it was anything more than a ‘temp job’ on a frat house futon.”

The actress then compared herself to Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, saying her younger friends believe she has a “resting Ghislaine face,” and they feel safe during a night out with her because traffickers think she is their “madam.”

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges in New York City’s Manhattan Correctional Center.

Maxwell, meanwhile, was found guilty of child sex trafficking in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Elsewhere in the monologue, Glaser joked about feeling uncomfortable when her 4-year-old nephew asked to shower with her — and her sister approved.

“‘Maybe it’s OK if you come and supervise,’” Glaser recalled telling her sister. “‘What if I molest him?’ She was like, ‘Would you?!’ I was like, ‘Like, no! Never. That’s disgusting!’ But that’s what I’d say if I was gonna. [Child abusers] lie. Don’t trust anyone! I don’t even trust myself.”

Several critics were quick to call out Glaser via X, with one writing, “Is #NikkiGlaser really that braindead in 2025?”

“Nikki is always hilarious and edgy but this wasn’t the right audience. This would land better for a Netflix special maybe, but not ‘SNL,’” another added.

“Pedophilia jokes. Believe these people when they tell you who they are. Stay classy, ‘SNL,’” a third chimed in, as a fourth agreed, “This was disgusting. idk how this even got passed the people who work there. Do better /:.”

“i’ve always really liked glaser and am a super dark humor person but idk joking about ur nephew was not on my bingo card,” tweeted another concerned netizen.

Others, however, defended Glaser, arguing that she “gave awareness to resources if one was being trafficked” and “spoke on how easy it can be for a family member to [sexually assault] someone.”

Reps for Glaser and NBC weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.