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SNL’s premiere cold open draws a rare official rebuke
The first cold open of Saturday Night Live’s 51st season provoked more than laughs — it earned a vocal response from the White House. In an email to Entertainment Weekly, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissed the sketch as beneath notice, saying she and “millions of Americans who have tuned out from ‘SNL’” had “more entertaining things to do — like watch paint dry.”
SNL’s sketch leaned into a current Hollywood hot button: late-night satire and the federal scrutiny that’s followed it this year. James Austin Johnson, who has become the show’s primary Donald Trump impersonator since 2021, barged into the opener to chastise the show and name-check FCC chair Brendan Carr as his “attack dog.” Mikey Day responded as Carr, dancing onstage to Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” correcting the pronunciation of his own name — only to be dismissed with a flippant “It’s crazy you think I care. Bye!” The cold open closed with Johnson’s Trump warning, “Remember: Daddy’s watching.”
Context: satire, censorship concerns and late-night TV
SNL’s riff isn’t isolated. The sketch plays into ongoing debates about freedom of expression, the role of the FCC in policing broadcast content, and political pressure on late-night comedy. Historically, SNL has often been a flashpoint — from Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin to Alec Baldwin’s Trump — and this season’s opener continues that tradition of using satire to interrogate power. The production also nodded to the show’s recent shake-up: a summer influx of 17 new cast members and a reshuffled “Weekend Update” led to jokes about new faces taking on the high-profile cold open.
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Beyond the official clapback, audience reaction has been split. Fans on social platforms praised Johnson’s timing and the cheeky staging; others saw the sketch as piling on. Industry observers note that while pressure from officials can create headlines, it also tends to amplify the very satire critics say they want ignored.
Trivia: James Austin Johnson has been SNL’s principal Trump since 2021, and the use of Rockwell’s paranoid anthem underscored the sketch’s theme of surveillance and gatekeeping.
Ultimately, the exchange highlights a perennial tension in American entertainment: comedy’s impulse to lampoon versus political actors’ attempts to control the narrative. For viewers who follow late-night, it’s another season reminder that SNL still courts controversy — and conversation.
Source: variety
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