Thoughts on Scarlett Johannson Spoofing Katie Britt on SNL

After watching Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt's melodramatic response to President Biden's SOTU address just over 48 hours ago, I wrote the following:

I can guarantee that Katie Britt's SOTU response is going to be the cold open for the next episode of Saturday Night Live. 

Of course, I am hardly an oracle. Never Trumper commentator Tom Nichols wrote on X, "There is no way that this Katie Britt address does not end up as part of the SNL cold open."

This sentiment was hardly confined to anti-Trumpers. A Republican staffer on Capitol Hill told Vanity Fair reporter Bryan Metzger, “She really thinks she’s killing it. But it’s comical. Like SNL quality.”

The world wanted to see SNL parody Katie Britt and SNL granted their wish with Academy Award winning actress Scarlett Johannson portraying Britt which you can watch here, if you choose.

I wonder two things. First, did the SNL writers begin writing this skit as Britt's rebuttal was airing? Second, how long did it take for them to pitch the idea to Johannson? Not long I suspect as Johannson is married to SNL cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost.

Whatever the circumstances, this thing has taken on a life of its own and has made Britt a household name for all the wrong reasons and may very well end what was until two days ago a promising political career.

I am sure someone will write an article or a social media post suggesting that we should stop piling on poor Katie Britt. Yes, President Biden wasn't too hard on her calling a Britt "a talented woman" but that is within his generous nature. Yet a significant part of Britt's speech was devoted to claiming to have gone down to the southern border and talked to a woman who was sex trafficked in the United States as a result of President Biden's border policies which she characterized as "despicable" and a "disgrace". As it turns out, the woman in question was sex trafficked in Mexico between 2004 and 2008 during George W. Bush's presidency. It is Katie Britt who is despicable and a disgrace because she flat out lied, and she deserves every comeuppance coming to her.

Scarlett Johannsen's spoof of Britt makes reference to this tall tale stating, “First and foremost, I’m a mom, and like any mom, I’m going to do a pivot out of nowhere into a shockingly violent story about sex trafficking. Rest assured, every detail about it is real except the year, where it took place, and who was president when it happened.” 

Still, for all her social commentary, let's remember Johannsen played Britt for laughs whereas Britt was doing this in her capacity as a United States Senator. If not for her unintentional buffoonery, Katie Britt could have caused a great deal of damage. Instead, she has only damaged herself and has become a laughingstock. Now if only defeated, former President Trump, no stranger to buffoonery, could face the same fate.