Tina Fey reflected on how “Saturday Night Live” has covered politics at History Talks, a speaker series featuring some of the most prolific political and media figures in modern history. The starry event, produced in tandem by the History Channel and Comcast NBCUniversal, fittingly celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States right in the heart of Philadelphia.
“One fifth of America’s history has been covered by ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Fey quipped to the audience at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday afternoon. “Which one will last longer?”
Fey appeared on “SNL” from 1997 to 2006, a pivotal era where she worked closely with Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers and Rachel Dratch, helping usher the sketch series into a new echelon of political relevance — one in which the country’s top elected officials began to take notice.
“The show’s relationship to current events became a thinner and thinner veil,” Fey explained. “They said something, we said something back. They’d come over and go, ‘We want to be on [the show] too.’ It’s thrilling, and almost a scary thing, that something you say will be heard by the person in charge.”
Fey continued to shape “SNL” history after her departure, notably hosting the first episode following the 2007–08 writers strike with a monologue that criticized NBC’s staff cuts. Later that fall, she appeared in a run of sketches as Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin during the height of the 2008 election. Many media analysts at the time suggested the sketch impacted McCain and Palin’s poll numbers. Variety reported on the “SNL Effect” in March 2008, highlighting how the show helped fuel a narrative that the press was too tough on Hillary Clinton and too soft on Barack Obama, which some argued led to tougher media coverage of Obama.
“It is fascinating to know that what you say will be taken seriously,” Fey said, recounting the six-week cycle she spent writing Palin sketches with Poehler and Meyers. “We always worked really hard to make sure they were what we call a ‘fair hit.’ It only felt like it would work if it was based in something that was true. Sometimes people will ask me, ‘Does SNL try to control the narrative of politics?’ And they really do not. You really can’t because if it’s not true, it will not be funny.”
Fey’s comments align with what longtime NBC executive Rick Ludwin told Variety after Nielsen reported that “SNL” Season 34 saw a 50% ratings boost during the 2008 presidential campaign. “We’re obviously thrilled the show is being talked about as more relevant than in the past,” Ludwin told Variety’s Michael Schneider. “There is a sense of responsibility to be fair. Our job is to be funny and to make fun of politics.”
The “SNL” icon also listed some of her favorite political impressions on the show: Darrell Hammond as Al Gore, Dana Carvey as George H. W. Bush and Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh. Before explaining why Damon’s take worked, Fey looked out into the crowd and quipped, “Justice Kavanaugh, if you’re here, I don’t understand what this event is. Are we on trial?”
Damon’s Kavanaugh debuted in the “SNL” Season 44 premiere in 2018, leading a cold open on the nominee’s Supreme Court hearings opposite Rachel Dratch as Sen. Amy Klobuchar. His explosive performance poked fun at Kavanaugh’s questionable explanations of yearbook jokes widely interpreted as references to lewd sexual exploits and heavy binge drinking.
“He came in and just played him so perfectly, it helped alleviate a frustration that many viewers of those hearings had,” Fey said. “It only works if it’s correct.”
“SNL” alum Kate McKinnon also moderated a History Talks panel with current cast member Colin Jost, the “Weekend Update” co-anchor who now occupies the desk once held by Fey. The event drew a wide range of attendees, including NFL stars Tom Brady and Jason Kelce, country singer Garth Brooks and Nicole Kidman. Most notably, all four living former U.S. presidents — Barack Obama, Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — were in attendance.
“Doesn’t it seem like there is one segment that is out of place?” McKinnon quipped.
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