Jim Carrey channels Joe Biden's inner Mr. Rogers on 'SNL'
You don’t mess with Fred Rogers — that’s a lesson that Mercedes Schlapp, a senior adviser for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, learned the hard way. After Trump’s Democrat rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, held his town hall on ABC this past week, Schlapp negatively compared his performance to the beloved PBS personality. The response to that self-own was swift and came from all quarters — including Saturday Night Live. Towards the end of his third cold open outing as Biden, Jim Carrey’s Veep donned Mr. Rogers’s familiar red sweater and gently crooned his signature tune: “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Twitter immediately felt like kids all over again.
#snl #JimCarrey #BidenHarris2020 #MrRogers I’m voting for Biden. pic.twitter.com/fMEznXabsc
— teslamother (@teslamother) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey as Joe Biden as Mr. Rogers is hilarious #SNL
— Jai Coulee (@jai_lorenzo) October 18, 2020
JIM CARREY AS MR ROGERS IS GIVING ME LIFE pic.twitter.com/afeubvTNFT
— !Megan! (she/her) (@morethanpilots) October 18, 2020
ok i'm sorry but jim carrey as joe biden as mr. rogers singing "won't you be my neighbor" on snl just now may have gotten me..... just a little emo
— tori (@tori_martino) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey as Joe Biden as Mr Rogers is the first time SNL has made me laugh this season
— Eric Renner Brown (@ericrennerbrown) October 18, 2020
Carrey drew on his own artistic background to pay homage to another dearly departed PBS superstar: painter Bob Ross.
Joe is channeling his inner Bob Ross on SNL. Jim Carrey is so good. #BidenCalm pic.twitter.com/WRjkdtjk8G
— banegirl ?? (@TheRealBaneGirl) October 18, 2020
I about lost it at Jim Carrey playing Biden while doing Bob Ross 🤣🤣🤣 #snl #
— Melissa Sandusky (@melissasaur) October 18, 2020
#SNL Jim Carrey as Bob Ross pic.twitter.com/1OXxB3zADG
— 🧟🧟🧟Frankenstein Chris 🧟🧟🧟 (@Alberti2Chris) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey as Joe Biden as Bob Ross is the art we needed #snl
— Rachel (@jerrytysons) October 18, 2020
@JimCarrey is a universal treasure. Playing @JoeBiden as Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross on @nbcsnl brilliantly. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/s4JOpxfWuD
— #HeelGemini (@heelgemini) October 18, 2020
Carrey’s Joe-Biden-as-Mr.-Rogers and Joe-Biden-as-Bob-Ross are arriving on the heels of last week’s equally popular Joe-Biden-as-Jeff-Goldblum. Three weeks into what might be a four-year gig, viewers mostly love it when the actor is doing two impressions at once. But when Carrey’s doing just plain old Joe Biden, they seem to have issues. One common thread to the Twitter complaints is that Carrey and the SNL writers’ apparent insistence on portraying the former veep as doddering and easily confused isn’t just playing into Trump’s “Sleepy Joe” caricature — it’s actually offensive.
Is it me or does anybody else find #SNL‘s portrayal of Joe Biden offensive? I don’t think it’s funny at all.
— ??🧡💛?ia💚💙💜 (@mommamia1217) October 18, 2020
I don’t know why they needed to change Woody Harrelson as Biden. Jim Carrey does an over-exaggerated forced version of him, it’s actually offensive. Jason Sudeikas would have been great as a comeback too. Not gonna watch this season. pic.twitter.com/2PdZ2t0FbV
— Miss Bossy Boots is wearing a mask 😷 (@MissBossyBoots_) October 18, 2020
It doesn’t.
Jim Carrey is presenting the Trump version of Biden. It’s offensive. #SNL— jepaco 🇺🇸 (@jepaco) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Joe Biden is straight out of a right wing improv troupe, bumbling, losing his train of thought, bombing jokes. Meanwhile Alec Baldwin’s Trump absolutely nails every punchline. Which one are we supposed to dislike?
— Hubie "Roger" Halloween (6'5") (@iamtherog) October 18, 2020
I am SO DISAPPOINTED in how you are covering Joe Biden. In the townhall he answered questions.. he was articulate. Trump answered nothing. Stop it. And bring back Jadon Sudekis. He is so much better than Jim Carrey. Please give Joe a fair deal. 👎👎👎😢
— Val Swisher (@valjswisher) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey, not Joe Biden, on #SNL is even worse b/c the show is doing stupid both-sides-ism, making up problems in Biden rather than the goofiness that's there. Don't forget that NBC and @nbcsnl deserve a lot of blame for normalizing the monstrousness of Trump.
— Matty (@Matty0707) October 18, 2020
Jim Carrey’s Joe Biden does not approximate nor creatively spoof the former VP. It’s like @JimCarrey does The Mask and Ace Ventura in a suit with a side of ageism. #SNL
— Anthe Rhodes-Liuzzo (@AntheRhodes) October 18, 2020
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump squared off against Kate McKinnon’s Savannah Guthrie in a replay of the Republican candidate’s competing (and lower rated) town hall on NBC. Billing herself as a “surprise bad-ass,” McKinnon prodded Baldwin’s POTUS into professing his admiration for Jeffrey Epstein, the Ku Klux Klan and crazy uncles. But most viewers looked past Baldwin and focused on Ego Nwodim playing Mayra Joli a.k.a. the “Nodding Woman” in the red mask who captured so much attention during the Trump town hall. At one point, Nwodim even held up a sign reading: “Call me Fox News.”
Seeing this is the highlight of my day lol #SaturdayNightLive #snl pic.twitter.com/i6OOJPkuCF
— CyclopsIsBetterThanWolverine (@Krakoan4Life) October 18, 2020
Ego Nwodim as the nodding woman behind Trump is spot on and iconic #snl
— Ava (@HelloAva) October 18, 2020
YO SHE IS A WHOLE CLOOOOOWN! SOMEONE GIVE HER A RAISE #SNL pic.twitter.com/HihnKSmKQb
— ? (@DisasterMovief) October 18, 2020
Thank you SNL for addressing the nodding audience member on Trump’s town hall! She made me crazy!
— JCSauer (@JayeCohenS) October 18, 2020
Nodding head lady made it on #SNL! Lol @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/X8GpwyMee3
— SandyLeeTV (@SandyLeeTV) October 18, 2020
Back in the real world, Trump and Biden will supposedly meet for their final debate on Oct. 22. That means next week’s SNL could feature Carrey adding another extra imitation into the mix. How about Joe-Biden-as-Andy Kaufman? We already know that’s one role Carrey can disappear into.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on NBC.
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