Teyana Taylor made her debut on Saturday Night Live with two of her biggest supporters seated just a few rows away — her daughters, Rue Rose and Iman “Junie” Tayla.
During her opening monologue, Taylor spoke about motherhood and the reality of sharing major career moments with kids who are very much growing up in a digital world.
“Man, I really, really love my kids so much, so I bring them everywhere with me. I ain’t even gonna front,” Taylor said as the audience laughed.
She then referenced her Golden Globes acceptance speech, recalling how she looked up from the stage hoping to see her daughters’ reactions.
“When I was giving my speech at the Golden Globes, I looked up to see my babies — I wanted to see their faces, you know — just to see that they were scrolling on their phones,” she told the audience. “So I’m like, ‘This is so amazing. Get off them phones. What an honor. Get off them phones.’”
Taylor shifted briefly to a more reflective tone, telling the audience she felt grateful to have her children by her side.
“But for real, I feel so lucky. I’ve worked so hard throughout my career to get to this point, and I’m just so grateful to be here with my babies cheering me on,” she continued.
As she spoke, cameras cut to the audience, where Junie and Rue were seated and focused on their phones. The visual drew laughs from the crowd as Taylor looked on from the stage and called them out directly, telling them to “get off your phones.”
Taylor shares Junie and Rue with her ex-husband, Iman Shumpert.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Taylor opened up about how they have been co-parenting since finalizing their divorce in 2024.
“Divorce, to me, is you’re grieving the death of a living being,” Taylor said. “I think once children are involved, you understand the importance of really still having to show up for each other.”
“At least for the next 18 years, and being the best co-parents that we can be,” she added.
