‘SNL’ alum Jay Pharoah jokes about Kenan Thompson: ‘I thought he was supposed to leave at some point!’
He’s ready to play ball.
Former “Saturday Night Live” star Jay Pharoah hosts the new Fox game show “The Quiz With Balls.”
Premiering May 28 (9 p.m. EST on Fox), the show features families as they answer trivia questions and compete to win a $100,000 cash prize — but when they get answers wrong, giant balls knock them into a pool of water.
“The concept of ‘Wipeout’ crossed with ‘Family Feud’ is a beautiful mix together,” Pharoah, 36, told The Post.
“So I just thought it was a smart idea. You get to answer questions, learn trivia and see people get knocked on their behinds into water,” he continued. “And some of you can’t swim, but it’s fine! We’ve got a lifeguard out there just in case.”
Pharoah added that he thinks his relatives will mock him for the show title.
“If I’m at Thanksgiving this year and all my male cousins and my uncles, they want to say something, I’m going to be like, ‘OK, who bought the turkey this year? Thank you. Shut up. Eat it,'” he said. “‘I’ve made everybody’s life easier this Thanksgiving by having this catered out of my pocket. You think I did that by not saying “balls”? No, I did it by saying “balls” as many times as I needed to say it!’”
He added: “’So, listen, I think everybody should be saying “balls” at this table. They should thank the balls … Let’s all be thankful for the balls for providing us this catered Thanksgiving event.'”
Pharoah, who is also known for his voice acting roles on “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons” and “Invincible,” was on “SNL” from 2010 to 2016. He became known for his celebrity impressions, such as Barack Obama, Will Smith, Chris Rock and DMX — and he said he’d love to star in a biopic about the latter.
During his time on that show, he learned skills in “live performance, and being able to shift at any moment.”
“I definitely got that from ‘SNL’ because sometimes things will go haywire, live. And you’ve got to be able to adjust, and think on your feet,” he told The Post. “And just being gregarious to folks and making every interaction as amicable as possible.”
The comedian has “no regrets” about his time on “SNL.”
“I’m looking at Kenan [Thompson] now. He’s been up there for so long I’m like, ‘Well damn, I thought he was supposed to leave at some point!’ I learned a lot. Lorne Michaels put me on the map. Looking at all the opportunities and things that have sprouted from that, I wouldn’t have been able to get this [show] if I didn’t do that. I promoted this on ‘The Tonight Show,’ because I have that relationship over there. Everything stems from your genesis. And ‘SNL’ was the genesis.”
Pharoah is also currently on a stand-up comedy tour.
“I have hecklers … I’ve said derogatory things to folks who deserved it, because most of the time at my shows, everybody has a good time … I have a very respectful following in the club,” he explained. “Online, that’s totally different. You know, there’s just crazy people online and say dumb things all the time and you kind of just got to sift through it. I get heckled more on Instagram than I do at my shows.”
