Kate McKinnon Finally Met Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Her Reaction Was So Pure
When we first met Ruth, we were waiting nervously outside. We were going to her office to meet her, and she couldn't take her eyes off Armie Hammer. [LAUGH] So that was the best introduction in many ways, cuz I thought, it's okay, she's a human being. So Felicity always says when we went to go meet Ruth Bader Ginsburg that she couldn't take her eyes off me. I think, more than anything, it was just because I'm so tall and she's so short that she was like, how do you breathe up there, kind of thing. That's my interpretation of it. If Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks that I'm dreamy, that might be the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me in my entire life and hopefully it will get me out of speeding tickets.
It’s hard to choose a favorite of Kate McKinnon’s Saturday Night Live performances, but if we were to create some sort of ranked list, her Ruth Bader Ginsburg impression would definitely be up there. But now, life has imitated art and worlds have officially collided: the comedian and the Supreme Court justice finally met IRL, and the interaction was just as pure as you’d imagine it to be.
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As noted by Entertainment Weekly, McKinnon and Ginsburg were both in attendance at the Off-Broadway performance of Fiddler on the Roof on Tuesday, August 13. According to photos and videos shared on social media, the two notable public figures shook hands, with McKinnon being described as “starstruck” (we don’t blame her).
📹 | Kate saying goodbye to RBG backstage at @FiddlerNYC last night! pic.twitter.com/0XDqkIdkQT
— Adoring Kate McKinnon (@KateMcKinnonNet) August 14, 2019
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At @FiddlerNYC and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is here! And Kate McKinnon just shook her hand!!! In all seriousness, this is a show that all #SCOTUS, judges, government officials should see. #seeingdouble #fiddlerontheroof #empathy #refugees #immigrants pic.twitter.com/6rdCvNpb6k
— 𝗡𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗮 🙋🏻♀️ (@spinstripes) August 14, 2019
A post shared by Ａｂｂｙ Ｇｏｌｄｆａｒｂ (@abbygoldfarb) on Aug 13, 2019 at 8:55pm PDT
A post shared by Ａｂｂｙ Ｇｏｌｄｆａｒｂ (@abbygoldfarb) on Aug 13, 2019 at 8:55pm PDT
Director Joel Grey told People that having McKinnon and Ginsburg in attendance “could not have made me happier,” adding that the Supreme Court justice was “generous and sweet. The audience went crazy for her.”
RELATED: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares Her Own Experience with Sexual Harassment
McKinnon has been portraying Ginsburg on SNL since 2012, the year she joined the series. The Supreme Court justice has previously expressed positive feedback about McKinnon’s impression of her; during a January 2018 interview with NPR’s Nina Totenberg, Ginsburg said: “I liked the actress who portrayed me…and I would like to say ‘Gins-Burn’ sometimes to my colleagues.”
Now that’s definitely a Gins-burn.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
