Viewers slammed “Saturday Night Live’s” cold opener after the show poked fun at this week’s congressional hearings on antisemitism on college campuses — hours after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned amid a flurry of backlash to her testimony.
The opening sketch, set as a C-SPAN broadcast, attempts to poke fun at the presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT — portrayed by Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman, respectively — as they testify before the House Education Committee.
There was a little laughter from the audience.
Viewers took to social media to slam the sketch, which some saw as undermining the seriousness of incidents of antisemitism on college campuses in recent weeks since Israel’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7.
Others think it’s just bad.
Chloe Troast (L) portrays Rep. Elise Stefanik in a satirical cold opener at a recent congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. SNL/NBC
Newcomer Chloe Troast plays Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, and targeted her line of questioning during the hearing as the subject of a sketch.
“I’m going to start yelling questions at this woman like Billy Eichner,” he said.
“Antisemitism — yay or nay?” he yelled at the three women. “Yes or no! Is calling for the genocide of Jews against the code of conduct for Harvard?
“Well, it depends on the context,” answered Dr. Claudine Gay of Nwodim, president of Harvard.
Ego Nwodim plays the role of the president of Harvard, Dr. Claudine Gay. SNL/NBC
“What? That’s not your answer,” Stefanik Troast responded.
“Miss UPenn, same question, yes or no?” he asked Magill Gardner.
“Well, we are serious about stopping all forms of hatred, anti-semitism, Islamophobia,” he replied. Stefanik then posed the same question to Dr. Fineman’s Sally Kornbluth, president of MIT.
“If you don’t say yes, you’re making me look good, which is really hard to do,” Troast’s Stefanik says. “So I will ask you directly. Do you think genocide is bad?”
Fineman’s Kornbluth replied: “Can I submit a written response at a later date?”
Chloe Fineman takes on the role of MIT’s president, Dr. Sally Kornbluth. SNL/NBC
“Did I win this trial?” Stefanik said in disbelief. “Someone pinch me!”
All three presidents breathed a sigh of relief when Stefanik knew his time was up, but the other committee members gave their time back to him, giving him one more chance to speak.
“I am here today because hate speech has no place on a college campus. Hate speech belongs in Congress, on Elon Musk’s Twitter, at private dinners with my donors and in public speeches by my working husband, Donald Trump,” Troast’s Stefanik said.
The sketch also pokes fun at the vague and evasive answers from academic leaders.
Heidi Gardner portrays University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill. SNL/NBC
“Only hateful anti-Semitic SNL could do a sketch about an anti-Semitic college president testifying before Congress and make Congressman Stefanik’s questioner the target of the sketch,” radio host Mark Simone tweeted.
“It’s pretty amazing how few laughs there are in the #SNL Cold Open. They – oddly enough – tried to pander to Elise Stefanik (who by all accounts won the day) as shrill. I think I’m under the misconception that calling a woman a “screamer” is sexist,” said one X user.
“Worst cold open on SNL I’ve ever seen the audience barely laugh,” wrote another.
Kenan Thompson appears as president of the University of Phoenix online. SNL/NBC
“Must be the worst cold opening I’ve ever seen on SNL so bad,” said another.
Another user said: “SNL is doing a big change in the cold open and it looks like it’s going to be a miss…”
While it largely falls flat, the sketch is somewhat saved by the appearance of show veteran Kenan Thompson, who plays the president of the University of Phoenix online.
“Can you take a moral stand on anything? Can anyone here say yes to one question?” shouted Stefanik Troast.
Following the cold opening, people online went after a decades-long sketch show about satirizing antisemitism on college campuses. SNL/NBC
“I’m ready to say yes to anything,” Thompson said.
“Look, look, finally. A real president of a real university,” Stefanik replied.
“That’s actually our school motto: U of P: We are a real university,” he replied.
Stefaniknya asked if he would promise to eliminate antisemitism from school campuses.
“My campus is the internet. Antisemitism is our most popular type of major, and our mascot is porn,” Thompson quipped.
The show’s creator and longtime producer Lorne Michaels, 79, was born into a Jewish family on a kibbutz in then-British-mandated Palestine before his family moved to Toronto.
The real Stefanik gave a fiery response when news of Magill’s resignation spread.
“One down. Two more,” the congressman said posted on X.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
