Watch Natasha Lyonne impersonate her former landlord Michael Rapaport in cut Saturday Night Live sketch
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
An unaired Saturday Night Live sketch allowed recent host Natasha Lyonne to get a little bit meta about her past.
The sketch, which would have aired Saturday but was cut for time and instead posted online as a web exclusive from the filmed rehearsal, parodied the ESPN morning show First Take and featured Chris Redd as Stephen A.Smith, Kenan Thompson as Kendrick Perkins, Chloe Fineman as Molly Qerim, and Lyonne as actor Michael Rapaport.
NBC; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Natasha Lyonne as Michael Rapaport on 'Saturday Night Live'; the real Michael Rapaport
As is the norm with SNL, the sketch skewers the ESPN show parodying its viewers with jokes about the Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks. But it's Lyonne playing "New York super fan" Rapaport that's the real gem of the bit — not just because of her comedic timing but because of a years-long connection with the actor.
Back in December 2004, Lyonne lived in Rapaport's Manhattan town house. During her time there, the actress received an arrest warrant for harassing neighbors and destroying the property. The charges were eventually dismissed after Lyonne completed court-appointed rehab, but it didn't stop Rapaport from calling her out in a 2005 article he wrote for Jane magazine titled "Evicting Natasha Lyonne."
"At the time I didn't understand, but now it's like, if I owned a nice brownstone — and [someone] was constantly moving pianos while listening to Richard Pryor CDs, and trying to figure out how to play 'Easy Like Sunday Morning' on the piano for days at a time — I would potentially be pissed too," Lyonne told EW about the incident back in 2012. "It's the fallout of shenanigan-based behavior."
Hopefully, Rapaport appreciated his former tenant's parody, especially since the two seem to have since made up over the years.
"We're totally reconciled, we're good friends, and she's like a sister to me. So we're cool," he told the Watch What Happens Live After Show back in 2016. "And she's good people, and she's a solid person and a great actress. She got good hair."
Watch the full sketch above.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
