‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open Riffs On Marjorie Taylor Greene, The GameStop Frenzy And Jack Dorsey’s Beard

The first Saturday Night Live cold open of 2021 featured Cecily Strong as Marjorie Taylor Greene, the QAnon adherent-turned-congresswoman whose conspiracy theorizing has become a source of endless media fascination.

The set up was Greene guesting on a talk show, What Still Works, with the host (Kate McKinnon) asking her, “What are some of the theories you believe in and have been promoted?”

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“Okay, first off, I believe the Parkland shooting was a hoax,” Greene says. “The teachers were actors and the children were dolls. I believe 9/11 was a hoax. Did anyone actually see it happen? I have also told my supporters that they should physically murder Nancy Pelosi. This lady I work with. And this is a new one that just came out: I think that the California wildfires were caused by Jewish space lasers.”

“So there are lasers in space that cause wildfires, and the lasers identify as Jewish?”

“Correct,” Greene says, confidently.

As it turns out, the jokes aren’t too far off from reality, as reports surface of Greene’s past social media posts and other statements. On Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office blasted out a press release blasted Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for not taking action against Greene and “rewarding her” with a spot on the House Education and Budget Committee.

Strong portrayed her with a kind of off-kilter arrogance that’s been seen in some of the clips of the real-life Greene, including one in which she berated Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.

What Still Works went on to feature guests Pete Davidson, as the new majority shareholder of GameStop, which saw its share price skyrocket this week amid a Reddit-inspired revolt against hedge funds; and then the long-bearded Jack Dorsey (Kyle Mooney) and Mark Zuckerberg (Mikey Day), defending the way that their platforms have handled misinformation.

At one point, Dorsey asks the host whether his beard, which he has been sporting during congressional hearings, “is working.”

“It’s working in terms of keeping me a lesbian,” the host says.

Next up was Kenan Thompson as OJ Simpson, wearing an ankle bracelet, to talk about how he managed to get a Covid-19 vaccine, even though it’s still been a challenge for elderly Americans to receive it.

“Guilty as charged … about the vaccine,” Simpson says.

The skit ended with John Krasinski as Tom Brady, who the host says “might be the only thing in America that still works.”

“So I guess everyone much be rooting for you, right?” she says.

“Almost no one,” Brady says.

“Well, I’ll be rooting for you Tom Brady, because you are the only goddam thing this country can still rely on. And it’s not like you are a weird Trump guy or anything, right?”

Then, Brady sheepishly says, “Thanks for having me.”

The host then finishes up. “I’ve been Kate McKinnon as myself slowly losing my mind along with all of you.”

Watch the cold open above.

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