Watch the 2013 ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch that eerily predicted yesterday’s Kanye-Trump shitshow

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

In honor of Seth Meyers hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, Vulture put together a list of some of the best sketches he starred in or wrote while on the show. And aside from being reminded that the show will never again be as good as it was when Meyers, Fey, and Poehler were running it, I was stunned by the prescience of this amazing 2013 faux-documentary sketch about a Sex Pistols’-esque punk band and the lead singer’s surprising political views.

Just … watch this and tell me you don’t see eerie parallels to what happened in the Oval Office yesterday:

(If your browser, like mine, refuses to show you this clip in this post, watch it on Hulu here.)

As for what happened in the Oval Office yesterday … let me begin by saying kudos to President Shiny Object. He wanted to distract us yesterday and mission fucking accomplished.

Instead of shining a bright light on the devastation Hurricane Michael — the fourth largest hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in terms of wind speed and the third most-intense in terms of pressure — wrought on the panhandle of Florida and the Southeast United States; instead of talking about Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist and Virginia resident who was abducted by Trump’s buddies the Saudis in one of their consulates and reportedly tortured, murdered and dismembered; instead of talking about the fact that thousands more children were separated from their families at the border than was previously reported and that we are tricking these children into signing away their rights and adopting them out to American families rather than returning them to their parents; instead of talking about the falling stock market and rising interest rates; instead of talking about the fact that his party is trying to strip people of their right to vote so as to steal the upcoming election, going so far as to arrest one Democratic campaign employee here in Texas; instead of focusing on any of these horrors, the media was — at least for a while — talking about Kanye West’s performance in the Oval Office.

And here I am, the hypocrite, about to fall for it, too. I apologize in advance, but I honestly don’t know how we don’t talk about this.

I will say this: I am not so cynical as to think Trump or any of his people anticipated Kanye would have a full-blown manic episode during yesterday’s press pool. I genuinely believe that President Star Fucker was so excited to have a black celebrity on his side that he couldn’t resist showing Kanye off and believed that at most, it would garner him a few African-American votes; at the very least, it would convince some white voters that he’s not as racist as anyone with a functioning brain can clearly see that he is.

All of that said, yesterday’s press pool made me profoundly sad for Kanye West on a couple of levels. On a very basic level, I felt, as I think most people who watched it felt, very sad for Kanye that he is clearly going through … something … and that no one within his circle seems to be able to get him the help that he clearly needs, or even convince him that there is an issue.

But on another level, I was sad for Kanye because I think he’s fallen for a well-worn trap constructed by the right. Not to make everything about the #MeToo movement, but watching his meltdown yesterday I was reminded of a Vanity Fair piece I posted here yesterday written by a woman who covers the conservative movement that describes how conservative women associate confronting sexual assault with victimhood and victimhood with weakness. As such, they will never stand with survivors or do anything to disrupt a system that encourages them being assaulted and harassed. I have to give the conservative movement credit: they have convinced their ranks that the people who disagree with their policies are whiny, lazy weaklings — even when many within their ranks are the people who suffer the most under those policies.

And it would appear Kanye too has fallen for the con, in large part because I think supporting Trump says something about his “independence of thought,” that he’s not just one more Democratic African-American following the party line just because of his skin color. Tellingly, Kanye revealed that supporting Hillary made him feel emasculated:

… the campaign “I’m With Her” just didn’t make me feel as a guy that didn’t get to see my dad all the time, like a guy that could play catch with his son. It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman. You made us Superman, that’s my favorite superhero, and you made a Superman cape for me.

It is exactly why there will always be white women who will support men like Roy Moore or Brett Kavanaugh: they feel their only access to power in this world comes from their whiteness — to identify as a feminist and to push back against a system that punishes them for being born a woman, means they are weak, victims, complainers. Similarly, Kanye supports Trump because it makes him feel like a man, which makes him feel like he has access to power. He has internalized the conservative messaging that to focus on one’s identity as an African-American and to support candidates who seek out policies that help the African-American community is to be weak, whiny, lazy.

Like I said, it made me sad.

Anyway, here are some organizations where you can donate to Hurricane Michael victims:

Red Cross

Save the Children

From The Failing New York Times:

GlobalGiving’s Hurricane Michael Relief Fund supports local organizations by helping emergency medical workers “meet immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products and shelter.”

GoFundMe created a page with Michael-related campaigns, including a general relief fund that is being managed by the Direct Impact Fund, a nonprofit.

The American Kidney Fund is helping with transportation expenses for dialysis treatment, replacing lost medications and assisting with temporary housing.

AmeriCares has deployed relief workers to Florida to deliver emergency medicines and relief supplies, and to offer support to health clinics.

International Medical Corps said it has sent teams of doctors and nurses to Florida at the request of the state’s Department of Health.

And here’s how you can help with the children being separated at the border:

KIND (Kids in Need of Defense)

LUPE (La Unión Del Pubelo Entero)

CARA (a joint project of the groups CLINIC, RAICES, AILA, and the American Immigration Council)

NIJC (The National Immigrant Justice Center)

RAICES (The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Educational and Legal Services)

In other TV News

The creators of The Haunting of Hill House suggests that instead of binging all 10 episodes, you watch the first five episodes twice before moving on.

“To me, episode five is a real high point of the series,” supervising producer and co-writer Jeff Howard said. “It’s like a mini-movie and a massive character piece. There’s just so many moments of real, raw humanity in that thing. I think episode five touches your heart in a way that it would probably be a smart idea to go back at that point and take a look again before you move on, because you’ll definitely pick up on a lot of things that you might miss if you just keep blazing forward. But by the same token, I know that I’ll be there on a Saturday morning lying in bed hitting Next. I won’t be able to resist the idea of moving forward.”

If you’re confused by all the “Haunted” titles out there, io9 is here to help you out.

Funko is releasing a bunch of new Stranger Things toys, including Christmas tree ornaments because what says “the birth of the baby Jesus” better than an attacking Demogorgon?

If you were a fan of Anthony Bourdain, you should read this heartfelt tribute to him by his assistant. One of the things that I admired about Bourdain was how he lifted up so many, how he knew that his presence in someone’s restaurant or in their life could change everything for them and that he took that responsibility so seriously.

Time’s Up

Jimmy Kimmel had (Texan) Lynzy Lab on his show last night to perform her viral hit “A Scary Time.” It’s a beautiful performance. Vote dammit. (And Jimmy, please stop making apologies for the likes of Louis C.K., thanks on behalf of all women.)

Arnold Schwarzenegger admits that he has in the past “stepped over the line” with women, to which women replied, “NO SHIT.”

It’s interesting, Steve Carrell thinks a reboot of The Office wouldn’t work now because “the climate’s different.” I always thought that Michael Scott’s inappropriateness was the point of the show — and that because of that, it might the perfect show for this moment. I could envision a version in which most of the office workers continue to just sort of roll their eyes at his offensive behavior, but that his nemesis is a very “woke” young female employee who either stands up to him or tries to educate him — to no avail.

Tavis Smiley is still SO MAD at PBS and is now saying that they are going to come after him for misappropriation of public funds.

Renewals

  • FBI has received a full season order by CBS.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

  • Westside debuts on Netflix on November 9.
  • Deutschland 86 returns on Sundance on October 25.

  • Baroness von Sketch Show returns on IFC on November 8.

  • Sally4Ever is coming to HBO on November 11. (This is the original trailer for its UK debut.)

R.I.P.

Jim Emswiller, Emmy-winning sound mixer who died on the set of the upcoming Mr. Rogers movie

WATCH THIS

FRIDAY

Royal Wedding Live: Princess Eugenie: She ain’t Harry, but if you need a dose of some royalty… 3:25 a.m., TLC

Titans: DC Universe’s streaming service debuts with its first series, based on the Teen Titans comic series. Series premiere. DC Universe

The Haunting of Hill House: Carla Gugino stars in this remake of the classic horror film based on the Shirley Jackson novel. Series premiere. Netflix

The Romanoffs: Matt Weiner’s new series about people who believe they are descended from the Russian Tsars is here (and not getting terrific reviews, honestly). Series premiere. Amazon

Light as a Feather: A group of girls play “light as a feather” and then begin dying off in this new teen horror series. Series premiere. Hulu

Blindspot: A “deadly new foe” emerges in the season premiere. 7 p.m., NBC

Dynasty: OK, but where’s Crystal? Season premiere. 7 p.m., The CW

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: The best musical comedy about mental illness is finally back! Season premiere! 8 p.m., The CW

Apostle: Dan Stevens stars in this eerie period piece about a man who tries to rescue his sister from a cult. Netflix

SATURDAY

Cucuy: A teenage girl discovers that the Mexican boogeyman in real. 6 p.m., Syfy

Saturday Night Live: Seth Meyers and Paul Simon 10:30 p.m., NBC

SUNDAY

Supergirl: Supergirl is required when an anti-alien terrorist group tries to assassinate pro-alien leaders. Season premiere. 7 p.m., The CW

Charmed: Three sisters discover they are witches in the reboot of the classic 90s series. Series premiere. 8 p.m., The CW

Camping: Jennifer Garner stars in this new comedy from Lena Dunham. Series premiere. 9 p.m., HBO

Shark Tank: Season premiere. 8 p.m., ABC

The Alec Baldwin Show: I don’t know who thought we wanted or needed more Alex Baldwin in our lives, but here we are. Series premiere. 9 p.m., ABC

Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Friday): Alec Baldwin, Anthony Mackie, LeClerc Andre Watch What Happens Live (Sunday): Quad Webb-Lunceford, Tamar Braxton

FRI. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Fresh Off the Boat
(new)		 Speechless
(new)		 Child Support
(new)		 20/20
(new)
CBS MacGyver
(new)		 Hawaii Five-0
(new)		 Blue Bloods
(new)
CW Dynasty
(new)		 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
(new)		 Local
FOX Last Man Standing
(new)		 The Cool Kids
(new)		 Hell’s Kitchen
(new)		 Local
NBC Blindspot
(new)		 Dateline
(new)

—

SAT. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30
ABC College Football: Wisconsin at Michigan
(live)		 News/Local
CBS NCIS
(repeat)		 Magnum P.I.
(repeat)		 48 Hours
(new)		 News/Local
FOX Game 2: NCLS
(live)		 News/Local
NBC Dateline Saturday Night Live
(repeat)		 News/Local Saturday Night Live
(Seth Meyers & Paul Simon)

—

SUN. 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC America’s Funniest Home Videos
(new)		 Dancing with the Stars: Juniors
(new)		 Shark Tank
(new)		 The Alec Baldwin Show
(new)
CBS NFL Football
(live)		 60 Minutes
(new)		 God Friended Me
(new)		 NCIS: Los Angeles
(new)		 Madam Secretary
(new)
The CW Local Supergirl
(new)		 Charmed
(new)		 Local
FOX The Simpsons
(repeat)		 The Cool Kids
(repeat)		 The Simpsons
(new)		 Bob’s Burgers
(new)		 Family Guy
(new)		 Rel
(new)		 Local/News
NBC Sunday Night Football: Chiefs at Patriots
(live)

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