Why Marcello Hernández is “Saturday Night Live’s” Gen Z secret weapon

Notoriously, in this dating day and age, men under 5-feet-9 have been branded short kings. It’s an inescapable backhanded label, causing a bitter division between the haves and the have-nots or in this case, the tall and short.

But the comedian, who is a self-proclaimed short king, finds that there’s nothing wrong with the moniker. Actually, Hernández sees it as his advantage and is reclaiming his height as desirable. This makes him appealing to his plugged-in Gen Z audience, who understand the implications of being labeled a short king. He’s just as online as they are, as he spent the early parts of his come-up on the Miami meme page “Only in Dade.”

In his early appearances on “SNL,” the comedian successfully argued for his fellow short kings, saying, “I know I’m short. You know how I know? Because when I lie about my height I say I’m 5’9″, which really means I’m 5’7″ and a half, and I’m lying about the half.”

Hernández goes on to tell “Weekend Update” host Colin Jost that short kings like them “should be proud of our heritage. We come from a long line of greats: Kevin Hart, Bruno Mars, Prince, The Minions, Al Pacino.” He goes on to call himself a petite prince and a tiny titan, and such celebratory self-awareness is winning.