Amy Poehler Explains Why She’s Obsessed With the Thai Cave-Rescue Story

Amy Poehler has a new NBC show debuting next week, but in a Late Night guest appearance on Wednesday, she spoke primarily about a story that’s nearly left the news cycle: the Thai soccer team rescued from an underground cave after being stuck for 18 days.

After briefly talking about how depressing the news is in 2018, Poehler urged host Seth Meyers on his show, “We have to talk about the boys in the cave, dude.”

She then enthused, “Ask me anything about that story. I can’t stop reading about that story, and it keeps going.” On Tuesday, two weeks after their dramatic rescue ended, the team began the process of being ordained as Buddhist monks by honoring the former Thai Navy SEAL that died during their rescue at a ceremony. 

However, when Meyers asked her how many team members were stuck in the cave, Poehler said, “That I don’t know.”

Seemingly to show Meyers what she did know about the story, Poehler spoke about the boys having to be sedated when they dove through the caves and the team’s coach teaching the boys to meditate and drink rain water and offering them his food. “He gave away his food! Don’t do any jokes about Trump, just talk seriously about this story,” she told Meyers.

Meyers then recalled a scrapped Saturday Night Live skit about the 2010 Copiapo mining accident, after which 33 Chilean miners trapped in a mine were saved. “Ask me anything about the Chilean miners,” he joked.

Poehler noted that the Thai cave-rescue story was “kinda over as a story, but it’s just beginning.” She also made a dig at Elon Musk, who at one point suggested he send in a miniature submarine to rescue the boys. (He also insulted a British diver who helped in the rescue efforts and mocked Musk’s plan, calling him a “pedo” and later apologizing.)

“You know the guy who’s like, ‘I’ll help,’ and he brings out some stupid tool?” she said, suggesting “the guy” was Musk.

Notably, Poehler isn’t the only Hollywood type to be interested in the Thai cave story — at least four films are already in development, just weeks after the daring rescue.

Poehler also teamed up with her old “Weekend Update” co-anchor for an edition of their “Really” segment, specifically taking on James Comey’s recent tweet urging Democrats not to move too far to the left. 

“Really, James Comey? You want to weigh in on things when there’s an election coming up?” Meyers sarcastically asked. “You feel like that’s gone well for you in the past?”

Poehler added: “I don’t know if you remember, but we were just about to have a nice, boring, moderate Democrat for a president until you decided to open your mouth the week before the election. You big dumb scarecrow!”

Meyers later offered, “I’ll take your political advice as soon as I’m done with my Jeffrey Dahmer cookbook and my Harvey Weinstein fitness tapes.”

Hilary Lewis contributed to this report.