SNL's cold open airs out the stink of GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz's various scandals
Aux Features Matt Gaetz
It’s an old and tiresome cliché that comedians are sad when a truly reprehensible, world-worsening politician leaves office. Because then what will they joke about, get it? Ugh. Well, have no fear, as the resounding ouster of former president and human shitpost Donald Trump has left those slapdash satirists at Saturday Night Live plenty of festering detritus to pick up, slap a wig on, and toss out at the top of the show to recognition applause, if nothing else. This week’s GOP flotsam was especially ripe, as the Daniel Kaluuya-hosted episode began with a cold open centered on multiply alleged (checks notes) sex criminal, sex trafficker, statutory rapist, sexist H.R. nightmare, and empirical douche, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
With featured player Chloe Fineman (as Britney Spears) hosting a talk show assessing the relative guilt or innocence of various “internet pariahs,” the sketch first saw the currently under image reevaluation singer pronouncing a mostly innocent on Lil Nas X (“You know that wasn’t the real Satan, right?,” the singer and blood-shoe salesman asked the audience concerning his Fox News-baiting video), and a qualified under-advisement to renowned cartoon skunk and cat-assaulter Pepé Le Pew. (Kate McKinnon in a skunk suit, accepting his skunky fate with chastened resignation.) But there really wasn’t any doubt about the verdict on Spears last guest, Gaetz (Pete Davidson), who—in this fictionalized version of the Florida Republican, at least—admitted that his many, many actions are probably going to land him in some hot, smelly water. (Or, you know, jail.)
In real life, it must be said of the infamously awful Gaetz, the conservative star and Fox News staple (until recently, somehow) has maintained his innocence, instead hurling customary cries of “cancel culture,” and “witch hunt,” and “How was I to know she was under 18 when I used campaign funds to transport her over state lines for sex?” Still, in this iteration, Davidson’s Gaetz could only assert the word “allegedly” to every detail of his reported conduct that Spears ran down, apart from the anecdote that Gaetz has been showing off cellphone snaps of naked women on the House floor. “Which is not a crime,” Davidson’s Gaetz pounced, “It’s just horrifying!” You know, unless the sitting congressman and guy who routinely invites Holocaust deniers as his plus-one showed them pictures of underage girls. Which, you know, allegedly. Even the disgraced Le Pew couldn’t stand sharing a sofa with the guy, hosing Gaetz down with an appropriate scent in summation.
21 Comments
Now Conservatives are offended about this moment. They’re calling it sacrilegious. I’m more offended they think God is a white man with long white hair and a beard and looks like Mikey Day.
I don’t know if they legitimately are, but it would be kind of hilarious as the sketch instantly points out why it would be dumb.
Read the Instagram comments to that post. Conservative Christians are showing up to show their disdain for it.
I think the most illuminating point of the sketch how it once reminded everyone that Trump has absolutely no loyalty to anyone without making it a focal point.
Lewis Black immediately dropped the hammer on that idea that comedians were happy about Trump, saying he just made their jobs harder, because what the hell could you exaggerate for comedic effect out of anything he actually did?
The comedic situation with Trump could be compared to comedy during WW2. Sure, Hitler could be made fun of, but folks would certainly have preferred Hitler to not exist rather than have him available for mocking material.
Trump killed the idea of politics being funny for me completely.
exactly. A comedian reading headlines from when he was president would not be funny at all. I hope satire can be revived now that he’s gone because I did enjoy it before 2016.
Pretty wild. They should bring Kate back as Pepe for random sketches where he’s not the main character but it would just be fun to see her in a skunk outfit.
Who knew that a guy who looks like an adult Butthead would turn out to be a total creep?
Matt Gaetz looks like Chris O’Donnell if he used his Chris O’Donnell powers for evil instead of good.
he’ll always be Quagmire 2.0 to me. It makes sense in so many ways now. (The thing with Nestor possibly being his lover seems so quaint to me now.)
Matt Gaetz could single-handedly revive the long discredited pseudoscience of phrenology.I mean, you can really judge the book by the cover with this guy and not feel guilty about it.
Colin Jost hit the nail on the head–you can tell he paid for sex from underage girls by his whole vibe, as you can from just about everyone in T***p’s orbit.
“Would ya look at the size of that kid’s head! It’s a virtual planetoid and it has it’s own weather system! Looks like an orange on a toothpick!”
Whatever gaetz did was bad enough that barr wouldnt kill or hide the investigation. Which means its likely much much worse than what we have heard so far.
hopefully Barr hasn’t yet realized what I and a lot of others have realized—if you actively sought out T***p to associate with him, and crave his approval or attention like Gaetz and so many others have, then the DOJ should open a file on you right now, because you have some shady shit in your past that can be exposed with a modicum of effort.
Yep, there are going to be lots of things coming out over the next few years. I’m hoping linday graham gets investigated. He went on one golf trip and came back as a person under duress, clearly compromised. My guess is its more than just him being gay, probably underage boys. And judge beer. He had hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt magically erased right before being put up for the supreme court.
I had not heard about Blanche’s golf trip. I care way less about his being gay and much more about him suddenly becoming T***p’s sub as soon as McCain is out of the picture. (Traded one dom for another?)Judge Beer (LOL) is one I hope the Dems don’t pursue at least as far as impeachment. I’d rather they investigate the magical disappearance of the debt and lay it bare but not pursue impeachment because if the Dems only have 2 years of control, they probably won’t have the bandwidth to pursue another impeachment trial no matter how deserved it may be, while also working on infrastructure, etc. I’d much rather they investigate the insurrection and also try to rein in the social media “rabbit holes” where all the Qnuts currently get their oxygen.
Oof. What a well-written and well-performed sketch…until Pete Davidson shows up. Tanks the whole thing. His lackadaisical shtick was never funny to begin with and the joke of the bit shouldn’t be his half-hearted approach to it. Ugh, why is he still on this show?
I am exhausted with him being a ‘thing’, but I will begrudgingly admit that I don’t generally hate his performances. That said, SNL isn’t exactly cranking out quality content these days… so maybe I just like being distracted from how toothless the show has become (outside weekend update, which is almost the only reason I watch still).