Kyle Rittenhouse verdict provides fodder for ‘SNL’
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” kicked off its latest show with a parody of Jeanine Pirro weighing in on the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal.
Cecily Strong started the cold open with a caricature of the former New York prosecutor on a fake episode of “Justice With Judge Jeanine.”
“That lovable scamp was put through a nightmare of a trial just for doing the most American thing anyone can do,” she barked. “Protecting an empty used car lot in someone else’s town.”
The conservative host then brought on liberal commentators to weigh in on the verdict.
“We were told you invited us in the interest of fairness,” said featured player Chloe Fineman, impersonating an NPR talking head.
“And you fell for it, that’s on you, dumb-dumb,” Strong’s angry character retorted while apparently sipping booze from her coffee cup.
Chris Redd portrayed a Howard University professor who provided a counterpoint to the NPR commentator’s shock at the Kenosha trial result.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Fineman said.
“I have many, many times,” Redd countered.
“I feel like it’s not who we are,” she continued.
“It kind of is though,” he lamented.
Cast member Alex Moffat lampooned Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s eight-hour tirade on the floor of the House, as he tossed a water bottle around to fill time.
“And that brave man stopped the Build Back Better bill from being passed, until it passed the next day in two minutes,” Pirro said.
James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump impersonation got the most laughs in the skit, as he went on a meandering rant that started with the infrastructure bill and ended with ridiculous pop culture observations, which excited the fictional Pirro.
“It’s terrible what they’re doing with Dua Lipa’s husband not being attractive. We have to do something about it. She’s tall, she’s Armenian — which is basically white — and you know who else is white? Bob the Builder, build the wall, Trump 2024,” Johnson’s Trump said.
The episode was hosted by Simu Liu, who introduced himself as “Marvel’s first Chinese superhero,” and explained how he was able to score the lead role in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
“The same way every Canadian gets their big break: by asking politely,” Liu cracked.
A fake Target commercial offered deals to help Americans get through awkward Thanksgiving get-togethers, including headphones for when elderly relatives start talking about politics, grill lighters for smoking cigarettes in the driveway and toys that “kids can destroy when they’re left alone in the basement.”
A fake game show called “Republican or Not” featured a host played by Kenan Thompson introducing guests and asking contestants to guess their political affiliation based on short statements.
“God I hate cops,” Kyle Mooney said.
“Not a Republican,” Ego Nwodim buzzed in.
“Incorrect. He was talking about these cops,” Thompson said, while showing a picture of the police who were trying to stop rioters from breaching the Capitol.
Sen. Liz Cheney, played by Strong, then listed her conservative credentials, but was exposed to actually be a Democrat due to blowback from Wyoming Republicans over her criticism of Trump.
“Like it or not you are the Rachel Dolezal of the Republican party,” Thompson quipped.
Pete Davidson was joined by “Walking in Memphis” singer Marc Chon, Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man and Big Wet for a parody tune about his home borough.
“We got a lot of cops, a ton of pills,” he sang in “Walking in Staten,” while nodding to other Staten Island stereotypes by featuring babies wearing gold chains, dead bodies in the water and racist Italian-Americans.
“Weekend Update” anchors told several jokes about the Rittenhouse verdict, including a quip about how throngs of protesters took the streets to march against the jury’s decision.
“Which is brave because Rittenhouse just got off for shooting protestors. I don’t know maybe don’t tempt him,” Micheal Che cracked.
Colin Jost joked about Rep. Matt Gaetz saying his office would be open to hiring Rittenhouse as a congressional intern.
“Gaetz has always loved teenagers that are willing to do terrible things,” Jost said, alluding to the Florida pol’s teenage sex trafficking allegations.
Rapper Saweetie took the stage at Studio 8H to perform a medley of her tunes “Tap In” and “Best Friend,” as well as “Icy Chain.”
The show will now enter a two-week hiatus but is scheduled to return to the air on Dec. 11 when Billie Eilish is slated to host and perform as musical guest.
