“Saturday Night Live” brought NFL drama and a soap-opera vibe to the impeachment hearings.
After NBC called the hearings “lacking pizazz” and Reuters called them “dull,” the comedians on SNL decided to turn the court proceedings into a soap opera called “Days of our Impeachment” on the cold open this week. It was an effort to capture the attention of the American public, because, as SNL said, “the only thing at stake is democracy.”
During the course of SNL’s hearings, we saw plenty of dramatic moments, including an appearance from Keenan Thompson, playing Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Feeling “falsely accused,” Garrett explained why he swung a helmet at Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph on Thursday Night Football.
“You see what happened was, I saw another player who had lost a helmet somehow, and I thought, ‘Oh, he should be wearing a helmet.’ So I attempted to put it back on his head.”
When Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., played by Alex Moffat, told him Garrett was not on trial, he replied that he knew that.
“President Trump pardoned me from the war crimes,” Garrett said. “He said I could bring a helmet to Afghanistan and just go nuts.”
Moments later, Garrett uses his helmet to smack Rudy Giuliani in the head.
During the final moments of the Browns’ win over the Cleveland Steelers, Garrett and Rudolph got into a wrestling match on the ground after the defensive end hit the quarterback late. Garrett ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and swung it at his head, which started a brawl on the football field. Garrett, Rudolph and quarterback Baker Mayfield discussed the incident immediately after the game. The media response was significant, with NFL giving Garrett an indefinite suspension.
In a truly depressing piece of commentary, it seems SNL is willing to introduce whatever amount of drama necessary to make sure Americans are paying attention to the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
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