Matt Damon Plays Brett Kavanaugh in Saturday Night Live ’s Season Premiere

Christian Allaire
Updated
The episode’s opening focused on the hearing of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

For last night’s season premiere of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Adam Driver and the artist formerly known as Kanye West as musical guest, the episode’s cold opening focused on the past week’s hearing on a sexual assault allegation against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh—and in a surprise SNL-style appearance, none other than Matt Damon was enlisted to play Kavanaugh in the 13-minute skit. (Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was mentioned but not depicted in the sketch.)

There was plenty of material for the show’s writers to work with: The opening mainly focused on Kavanaugh’s sputtering, sneering, and hyper-aggressive answers to the questions posed by the Senate committee. “I’m usually an optimist,” Damon shouts. “I’m a keg-half-full kind of guy, but what I’ve seen from the monsters on this committee makes me want to puke . . . and not from beer!” A recurring jab also took aim at Kavanaugh weepingly presenting the wall calendars he kept as a teen as his alibi. “I’ve got these beautiful, creepy calendars,” Damon said.

Other highlights from the skit included Aidy Bryant playing hapless sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell. (“I’d like to hide behind the female prosecutor that we hired as a human shield,” said one Senate committee member, introducing Bryant.) SNL veterans Rachel Dratch, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Kate McKinnon, as Sen. Lindsey Graham, also made appearances for the season debut. “You know what this is, Judge Kavanaugh? This is hell!” McKinnon’s Graham said, and also, “This is my audition for Mr. Trump’s Cabinet and for a regional production of The Crucible.”

Watch the full clip, below.

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