{
  "id": 13778927,
  "title": "'SNL' takes aim at Kevin O’Leary and his Utah data center: 'I'm going to make the future go away’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/snl-takes-aim-at-kevin-oleary-and-his-utah-data-center-im-going-to",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-11T18:45:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/saturday-night-live-kevin-oleary-utah-ai-data-center-2026-10"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Saturday Night Live (SNL) featured a sketch comedy segment where James Austin Johnson portrayed Kevin O'Leary, the Shark Tank investor, discussing his proposed data center project in Utah. During the sketch, O'Leary declared his intention to \"make the future go away\" by constructing a giant data center spanning over 20,000 acres, which critics argue may strain local resources and harm the environment.\n\nDespite some residents expressing concerns about the Stratos Project, O'Leary claimed he remains undeterred by public opposition and legal challenges. He even accused critics of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a claim he later retracted. O'Leary Digital, the company backing the project, has scaled down the planned data center's size from about 40,000 to just over 20,000 acres due to public pushback.\n\nThe mock segment included O'Leary acknowledging his inflammatory statement about opposition to the project being from Chinese super agents. The sketch took a satirical approach to the contentious issue of data centers, highlighting the clash between advocates who see them as essential for economic growth and job creation, and local residents who worry about their environmental impact and potential job displacement.",
  "summary": "James Austin Johnson played Kevin O'Leary on \"Saturday Night Live\" this week, addressing the dispute around the investor's Utah data center project.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}