| The Detroit News
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Cecily Strong reprized her impersonation of Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer on Saturday in a sketch with “famous governors” delivering doses of the COVID-19 vaccine via game show.
The sketch, which was the cold opening in an episode with Nick Jonas as a presenter and musical guest, features Kate McKinnon in the role of Dr. Anthony Fauci while he presents the parody game show “So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine”.
“Getting the vaccine shouldn’t be a competition, but Americans will only want to get it if it means that someone else can’t,” jokes Fauci de McKinnon.
A group of “competitors” seeking the vaccine appears before a panel of United States governors, including Alex Moffat as California governor Gavin Newsom, Pete Davidson as New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Strong as Whitmer. The draft mocks the way the vaccine is being distributed in the United States, the controversies surrounding Newsom and Cuomo and an alleged plan to kidnap Whitmer.
“Our next judge narrowly escaped being kidnapped by a group of men whose fingerprints probably contained Cheetos dust,” said Fauci de McKinnon as an introduction to Whitmer, a reference to the alleged plot.
“It is an honor to be here with my fellow governors,” said Whitmer of Strong. “People yell at them about their policies and yell at me, ‘Get her!’
“But hey, this is life,” she says as she takes a big sip of what looks like a Bell’s Oberon Ale.
Beer may have been a call back to an earlier, online-only sketch by Whitmer. Last April, Strong portrayed the governor drinking a Labatt Blue beer on his deck. The governor later joked that the draft “misunderstood the beer” and continued to send Strong a special pack of Comstock-based Bell’s Brewery beers.
Saturday’s game show sketch also depicted a Michigan resident – cast member Heidi Gardner wearing a University of Michigan sweatshirt – trying to get a shot of the vaccine.
“It’s nice to see a Michigander mate,” Strong tells her.
“I actually voted for you,” says Gardner. “I voted for you to be kidnapped.”
“I accept,” says Whitmer of Strong.
Twitter: @JGrzelewski