Earlier this week, history was made when Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, making her the first black woman to become a Supreme Court justice.
And while it wasn’t quite as monumental in size, a sketch from “Saturday Night Live” commemorated this achievement, with Jackson (as played by Ego Nwodim) preparing to give a celebratory speech as she consulted with President Biden (James Austin Johnson) at the White House.
Johnson, as Biden, patted himself on the back: “I made a campaign promise to get a black woman on the field, and I did it,” he said. “So that’s one campaign promise and only 74 more to go.”
Nwodim, as Jackson, explained that she was happy to do her part to ensure her affirmation: “Working twice as hard as a white man all my life, then spending a week listening to Ted Cruz call me a pedophile.” , she said.
As he left, Johnson gave her some encouraging words. “Take a moment in this room,” he said. “Feel the weight of history. Sometimes I imagine I’m talking to all the great Americans who have gone before me.”
Reflecting on this advice, Nwodim wondered, “Who would I like to talk to?”
That said, she was joined by Kate McKinnon, who returned to her recurring role as the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and offered Nwodim some guidance.
“Here’s my advice,” McKinnon said. “Always label your lunches. Many of those other judges had sticky fingers.” She also said: ‘If you’re anything like me, white ladies will start wearing buttons off your face like an ‘I voted’ sticker. It’s crazy, but they mean well.”
Then Kenan Thompson came in as Justice Thurgood Marshall. Reflecting on his time at the forefront of the civil rights movement, Thompson said, “I was there when people of color in this country came together with one voice and said enough was enough. And then white people said, we’ll think about it.”
Still, Thompson told Nwodim not to give up on democracy. “I mean, I was the first black Supreme Court justice,” he said. ‘You must be, what, the 10th? The 20th?
Nwodim replied, “No, only the third.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Thompson replied hastily.
Punkie Johnson, who appeared as Harriet Tubman, became suspicious when Nwodim told her she would be getting a life contract: “I don’t like that,” Johnson said. “Sounds like a trap.”
When Nwodim assured her this was not the case, Johnson replied, “Okay, but if so, light two candles and meet me at the farmhouse at midnight.”
Chris Redd came in as Jackie Robinson to further encourage Nwodim.
“Let me tell you it’s pretty fun being the first,” he said. “Yes. It’s fun. Here’s my advice: Beware of batteries. You get so many batteries thrown at you.”
Nwodim corrected Redd, who mistakenly believed she would get more money than a professional athlete. “I would like to,” she said. “Baseball players today average about $4 million a year.”
“Oh, excuse me,” Redd said, then let out a primal scream in his baseball glove. He held his breath and added, “Thank you. I’ve been doing that since 1947.”
Opening monologue of the week
How long has it been since Jake Gyllenhaal last hosted “Saturday Night Live”? As the actor explained in his opening monologue, he made his only other appearance as an “SNL” host in 2007.
“Do you know how long ago that was?” he asked. “That was about 400 Marvel movies ago.”
For that previous monologue, Gyllenhaal had donned drag and performed “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the musical “Dreamgirls.” He made it clear that those same antics probably wouldn’t fly in 2022, but he did sing again—this time a slightly modified version of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” a Jim Steinman rock opus popularized by Celine Dion.
Weekend update jokes of the week
At the Weekend Update desk, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued to riff over Judge Brown’s confirmation process.
Jost started:
The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson, making her the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. “I drink to that,” Brett Kavanaugh said. Justice Jackson was honored in a ceremony at the White House Friday, saying, “We’ve come a long way to perfect our Union.” That’s a direct quote from Ben Affleck’s proposal to J. Lo. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who wants everyone to keep their cool with the long neck jokes, said he believes Supreme Court Justice Jackson would have defended the Nazis. Worse, he meant it as a compliment.
Che continued:
Senator Mitch McConnell, seen here watching the Oscars in memoriam package, reportedly said that his vote no to Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court was not based on race or gender, but on Ketanji’s refusal to answer his question. to answer: Can I touch your hair?
Willow Smith’s presence on “SNL” this weekend — she joined musical guest Camila Cabello in one of her performances — didn’t stop Weekend Update from continuing to target her father, Will Smith’s Oscars writs.
Health protector of the week
In a broadcast with a skit in which several artists were cast like anthropomorphic flowers (and Bowen Yang as a very aggressive bee), and another who saw Sarah Sherman play the murderous horror movie doll Chucky as an office worker, we were grateful for the postponement of a reliable game show parody.
This one — hosted by Thompson, of course — doesn’t immediately explain why the “Why would you like it?” But as the unwitting contestants (Gyllenhaal, Redd and Chloe Fineman) discover, it’s a quiz show asking them why they liked certain Instagram posts. To their chagrin, there is only one correct answer. (It’s because they want to have sex with the people who posted the posts.)
