Regardless of Lorne Michaels’ earlier promise that no real-life political candidates would present up on SNL this election season, Vice President Kamala Harris popped by Studio 8H on Saturday night time, showing in a chilly open reverse Maya Rudolph’s Kamala, taking part in her literal mirror picture.
Whereas this one-off cameo appears unlikely to have a lot of an impression on Election Day, Trump supporters have been raging in regards to the sketch on-line, suggesting that Trump himself is now owed airtime as a result of FCC’s equal time equity guidelines (though this was seemingly resolved by a NASCAR advert). They’re additionally complaining that Harris “plagiarized” an earlier sketch starring Trump.
It’s true that again in 2015, Trump and Jimmy Fallon carried out an analogous mirror bit, during which Fallon-as-Trump teed up the presidential candidate for jokes that additionally served to advertise his marketing campaign speaking factors (always remember Fallon’s position on this nationwide nightmare), but it surely aired on The Tonight Present, not SNL.
And it didn’t originate with Trump. Only a few months earlier than Trump guested, Fallon carried out the identical bit with famous snicker riot Mitt Romney.
However the sketch truly dates all the way in which again to an SNL episode from December 2001, and it starred Fallon and Mick Jagger, who, I’m fairly certain wasn’t working for president on the time.
Oddly sufficient, the sketch’s premise, which is now the topic of a significant political information story, was thrown collectively on the final minute. Jagger was the episode’s musical visitor (Hugh Jackman was the host). As Fallon revealed on The Dan Patrick Present earlier this 12 months, it was written on the Friday night time earlier than the present aired, and it solely happened as a result of Michaels prompt that Fallon ought to pitch some sketch concepts to Jagger.
However Fallon’s first suggestion didn’t go over properly along with his boss. “Earlier than the assembly, I stated to Lorne, ‘Possibly I’ll do an impression of Mick within the mirror, I’ll be his reflection,’” Fallon recalled. “Lorne goes, ‘Please don’t do this, that’s been performed so many occasions.’”
Michaels was proper; the thought was older than Mick Jagger himself. It was principally a riff on the traditional Marx Brothers routine from Duck Soup, which was subsequently copied by numerous TV exhibits starting from I Love Lucy to Donny & Marie.
So when Fallon met with the Rolling Stones frontman, he threw out quite a few different concepts, together with the 2 of them “working at a Sunglass Hut collectively” and a sketch the place they performed clones of Keith Richards. However these didn’t go over properly. Judging from John Mulaney’s story about pitching sketches to Mick Jagger, he in all probability didn’t cover his distaste both.
Finally, out of “desperation,” Fallon provided up the mirror thought, which Jagger cherished. “So I had to enter Lorne’s workplace and say, ‘Excellent news and unhealthy information. Excellent news: He needs to do a sketch. Unhealthy information: We’re doing the reflection within the mirror,’” Fallon defined.
Fortunately, the sketch, which was solely rehearsed as soon as, completely killed — which is presumably why Michales and Fallon have continued to beat this horse that Michaels declared useless over 20 years in the past.
You (sure, you) ought to comply with JM on Twitter (if it nonetheless exists by the point you’re studying this).
