Kate McKinnon, who has been the heart and soul of the current Saturday Night Live cast, gave another unforgettable performance in the Alec Baldwin-hosted February 11 episode. She played Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway in a pre-taped sketch where she terrorized CNN anchor Jake Tapper in a Fatal Attraction parody. Beck Bennett played Tapper in the skit.
She’ll do whatever it takes. #SNL
In the sketch, Tapper returned to his apartment, only to find that Conway was sitting in his home. She tried to convince him to let her get on CNN, but he refused. She even wanted to call in. He eventually agrees to let her go on CNN, but she falls out of a window. However, she comes back to life and has only three lives to live.
The sketch was a reference to Tapper’s viral interview with Conway and reports that CNN considered banning Conway from the network after she infamously cited the non-existent “Bowling Green Massacre” in another interview. However, the ban only lasted a couple of days and she was back on CNN.
Tapper’s only response to the sketch was “Um.” He did later comment that Bennett’s high hair-line was a jab at his big forehead. “I think they may have been going more for a comment on my enormous forehead — it’s an 8head really,” he wrote.
Conway having an obsession with getting on camera has been at the center of McKinnon’s jokes about her. In January, she performed a big, Chicago-esque song as Conway.
McKinnon has had a busy night. She first played Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Sean Spicer skit with Melissa McCarthy. She also played Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren during Weekend Update.
McKinnon is coming off a Primetime Emmy win for the 2015-2016 season, which was highlighted by her perfect performance as Hillary Clinton. Although that role hasn’t been needed as much in the 2016-2017 season after the presidential debates, she did give a memorable performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to open the first episode after the election.
Her success on SNL has led to major roles in film, including Jillian Holtzman in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot. She also starred in Office Christmas Party and Masterminds last year. Hr voice was heard in The Angry Birds Movie and Finding Dory. She has been on SNL since 2012.
