Culture

Cecily Strong Dressed As A Clown On ‘SNL’ To Deliver The Most Powerful Abortion Speech On TV

“I know I wouldn’t be a clown on TV here today if it weren’t for the abortion I had the day before my 23rd birthday.”

cecily strong snl

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Actor and comedian Cecily Strong has slammed anti-abortion laws in an iconic instalment of SNL’s Weekend Update.

In the standout sketch of the entire episode, Strong appeared on Weekend Update as Goober The Clown, who appeared on the segment to discuss the new Texas abortion law, which effectively bans abortions after six weeks. Goober had a “clown abortion” just a day before her 23rd birthday.

“I really don’t [want to talk about this],” said Strong’s character. “But people keep bringing it up, so I gotta talk about freaking abortion… I wish I didn’t have to do this, because the abortion I had at 23 is my personal clown business.”

“It’s a rough subject,” Cecily said, while clowning around, “so we’re gonna do fun clown stuff to make it more palatable. Who wants a balloon animal?”

Throughout the segment, Strong plays a lighthearted, fun-loving clown, while discussing serious and important facts surrounding abortion.

“Did you know that one in three clowns will have an abortion in her lifetime?” she asked. “You don’t, because they don’t tell you. They don’t even know how to talk to other clowns about it, because when they do talk about it, if you were a clown who wasn’t the victim of something sad like clown-cest, they think your clown abortion wasn’t a ‘righteous clown abortion.’ I mean, what the dick is that?!”

But when reminded that you can’t swear on SNL, Strong told host Colin Jost that they were just “having fun”.

“It’s funny, Colin, we’re having fun — just laugh, pull my finger… Laugh! I need it! I need you to laugh so hard, like the way I laughed when the doctor asked if I got pregnant on my way over to the clinic because I wasn’t very far along,” she said, expressing that she “loves that joke”.

“Not like a funny-haha joke,” she said, “but like, in a funny, you’re not an awful person and your life isn’t over joke. A-honka honka!”

Then, after inhaling an excessive amount of helium, she delivered perhaps the most powerful line of the entire scene.

“I know I wouldn’t be a clown on TV here today if it weren’t for the abortion I had the day before my 23rd birthday,” she shared. “Clowns have been helping each other end their pregnancies since the caves. It’s going to happen so it ought to be safe, legal and accessible. Not back to the alley. The last thing anyone wants is a bunch of dead clowns in a dark alley.”

As expected, the internet — both fans and critics alike — were quick to rally around Strong in support of her brave and truly outstanding performance, despite it clearly being a difficult topic for her to discuss.

It’s hardly surprising to see such an incredible performance from Strong, considering she is one of the best comedians in the game right now. But it truly speaks volumes about her talent and strength to deliver such a powerful and iconic moment that stood out so much amid an already stacked lineup of talented comedians and actors.

The whole episode is a must-watch, hosted by Kieran Culkin — yes, the second most famous Culkin brother — but Strong’s performance this week deserves a goddamn Emmy.

You can stream SNL on Binge now.