Doug Emhoff Approves of Andy Samberg Portraying Him on ‘SNL’
Doug Emhoff has seen Andy Samberg’s impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live — and he approves.
The first gentleman stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show on Tuesday, where he was asked about The Lonely Island frontman’s portrayal of him during the sketch comedy show’s season 50 premiere this past weekend.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
“I’ve been watching that show my whole life and to think somebody’s playing me, first of all, it’s just so… wow!” Emhoff told the daytime talk show host. “And then I gotta hand it [to him], Andy Samberg did a good job!”
When Jennifer Hudson confirmed that he was sharing that he approved of it, he said that he did. “Andy, good job,” he repeated. “I love the second gentlemensch line was very good. His little Dougie coming in,” he added, referring to when Samberg came out in the SNL cold open dancing to “Teach Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District.
“He was like, trying to do the Dougie. I don’t know what that move was, but it was pretty good,” Emhoff said.
The first gentleman also took a moment to praise Maya Rudolph for her portrayal of Vice President Kamala Harris, noting, “She’s so good as Kamala. She did a really good job.”
Samberg and Rudolph were joined in the cold open by Dana Carvey, James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang, who played President Joe Biden, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, respectively.
During his podcast, Superfly, with David Spade, Carvey opened up about his preparation for taking on the current president in the sketch comedy series, noting that he kept the news under wraps for weeks.
The comedian and actor explained that he hadn’t seen many Biden impressions out there because they’re a “little trickier,” but he pointed out that he has seen a lot of Trump, including Johnson and Shane Gillis.
The president has been portrayed by a lot of castmembers on SNL and guest stars, but no one person has stuck as the Biden impersonator. Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney and Jim Carrey have all taken on the role of the president for the series.
Carvey explained that he wanted to prioritize “getting that high-energy part” of Biden correct. “That didn’t come out til maybe six months into his first term where they asked him some question, he got kinda mad,” the former SNL castmember said. “‘I can do whatever you want!’ You know? That rhythm.”
The Wayne’s World star also noted that he wanted to prioritize comedy over political statements, referring to his rambling moment in the cold open where his Biden ends up shouting “I can’t believe it’s not butter,” while trying to say his 2020 campaign slogan, “Build back better.”
“The true north star is to try to make it funny and not really get it to be a political message, per se,” Carvey said. “I didn’t write it down or, you know, sharpen my pencil that he would say, ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter!’ with declarative intent.”
SNL season 50 returns on Saturday with host Nate Bargatze and musical guest Coldplay.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
