Melissa McCarthy created a memorable send up of Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live, portraying him as a water-gun squirting, gum chewing bully.
The uncanny portrayal – in which Spicer directs a fusillade of anger toward the news media – was memorable in the Tina Fey-Sarah Palin sense.
You can watch the entire skit here:
Melissa McCarthy as Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Holy cow, she stole the show!!!! #nbcsnl, #melissamccarthy. t.co/VX92RWOqKT
Here is the real Sean Spicer:
(Getty)
Some people on Twitter felt that McCarthy transformed into Spicer in their minds. Spicer has had an antagonistic relationship with the news media, using his first press briefing to accuse the news media of downplaying the attendance at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison.
McCarthy was almost unrecognizable.
Melissa McCarthy. (Getty)
McCarthy’s Spicer badgered reporters and pushed a podium into them.
melissa mccarthy did not play sean spicer
SHE BECAME SEAN SPICER
Here are some other clips and GIFs posted and retweeted by Saturday Night Live of the Spicer-McCarthy skit:
*lunges with podium* #SNL
“I’m here to swallow gum. And I’m here to take names.” #SNL
Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway used the now infamous line “alternative facts” to explain why Spicer was saying Trump had the largest inaugural crowd ever when photos appeared to show otherwise. Spicer is the former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Trump has been sensitive about SNL’s mocking of him and his staff in the past; Alec Baldwin plays the president.
Reaction on Twitter to the McCarthy skit was positive, with many people said it should have been Saturday Night Live’s open.
“Melissa McCarthy” I’ll just put it out there, Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer is TOO REAL LIKE & FUNNY, DROP the MIC !!! 😂
I’ll watch @melissamccarthy being #SeanSpicer over the real @PressSec anytime! #nailedit #SNL
OMG, Melissa McCarthy is Sean Spicer!
Looks and sounds exactly like him! 😁😂😃 #SNL
In case you haven’t seen it before, here’s a real Sean Spicer press conference for comparison purposes: