Saturday Night Live kicked off its 51st season with a cold open riddled with dark humor as host Will Ferrell played the ghost of disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein coming back from the dead to haunt Donald Trump. 

The skit began with cast member James Austin Johnson as the president, seated in the Oval Office, before drifting off. 

Will Ferrell then appeared with grey hair, wrapped in shackles as the convicted sex offender, to pay his 'best friend a visit.' 

Johnson's Trump was gleefully surprised to see Ferrell as Epstein's ghost, but informed him that things were not going his way, citing his approval rating dropping to the 30s. 

'30s? Gross - call me when it hits 17,' Epstein replied.

'It's dark, very dark, dark situation. So what are you up to these days, Jeff? How's heaven?' the president asked, to which Epstein replied: 'It's really, really hot.'  

When asked about his summer plans, Johnson's Trump said he would be at the World Cup, hosting the Patriot Games for American high schoolers and attending a UFC fight on the White House lawn like he's 'white trash on Worldstar.' 

The president then asked Epstein's ghost for a high five, which generated the sordid punch line, 'You know what, this time, I'm going to leave you hanging,' referencing the financier's suicide in his jail cell. 

Epstein's ghost then revealed a series of 'visions' for the future of the Trump administration, which featured former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as a presenter on the Home Shopping Network and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth smoking marijuana on a podcast with FBI Director Kash Patel. 

The comedians referenced the Daily Mail's exclusive on Noem's husband cross-dressing as a 'busty bimbo,' setting up a line about how 'crazy' the Trump administration is. 

Colin Jost reprised his role as Pete Hegseth, portraying the secretary as a drunken frat boy alongside Aziz Ansari's incompetent Kash Patel. 

Jost's Hegseth said he was podcasting to promote his new 'hard water' product, 'Poland Sprung.' 

Epstein's ghost had one last fortune to reveal - the US came in second after the war in Iran. 

Farrell then issued a blistering message to Trump, telling the president: 'Donny, just remember: no matter how many wars you start, or how bad you tank the economy as a distraction, people will always associate you with me. And that, my dear friend, is a beautiful thing.'

The two then broke out into song, performing a duet of Bill Withers' 1981 hit, Just the Two of Us. 

The skit left viewers in shock. Some fans found the humor in the dark opening, others claimed it was insensitive to Epstein's real victims, while MAGA die-hards slammed the show for portraying Trump's relationship with the infamous pedophile. 

'Nothing funny about Epstein ever,' one viewer commented. 

'I don't know how to feel about this opening. I don't wanna laugh in honor of the victims but also I wanna laugh cuz of Poland Sprung and the fact this will piss off people so much it will remind people to not stop talking about it,' another added. 

'SO brave… SO creative… SNL running on woke fantasy fumes in their season finale…' wrote a third. 

However, some praised the cold open with one posting on X: 'Donald Trump and Ghost of Jeffrey Epstein singing "just the two of us" was truly a laugh out loud moment.' 

Trump and Epstein frequently crossed paths and reportedly had a close friendship in New York during the 90s and early 2000s. 

Trump has appeared thousands of times in the public files related to the Department of Justice's investigation into Epstein's sex crimes. 

The controversial cold open concluded SNL's 51st season, which included a slew of skits skewering the Trump administration.