TV

‘Saturday Night Live’ Has Finally Taken On Harvey Weinstein

Kate McKinnon did not hold back.

by Tom Clift  16 October 2017
Saturday Night Live Harvey Weinstein

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A week after copping criticism for failing to take on the story, the team at Saturday Night Live has addressed the scandal around disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein has been in the headlines for the past two weeks after a number of women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault. SNL and other late-night shows initially shied away from the subject, but appear to have changed tack as the story gains more and more momentum.

Colin Jost hit out at Weinstein during the show’s regular Weekend Update segment, joking that “Apple has announced that it will add hundreds of new emojis to its iOS system, including a person at a spa, a vomiting face and a shushing finger, finally giving emoji fans the ability to describe what it was like to work for Harvey Weinstein.”

The comedian also took a jab at Weinstein’s reported plans to enter into rehab. “He doesn’t need sex rehab,” remarked Jost. “He needs a specialised facility where there are no women, no contact with the outside world, metal bars, and it’s a prison.”

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The show also resurrected its semi-regular Actress Roundtable sketch to discuss Weinstein and the subject of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry more broadly. Kate McKinnon reprised her role as fictional actress Debette Goldry, who pointed out that harassment in the industry is nothing new.

“Women being harassed is Hollywood,” said Goldry. “Everything old is new again. Producers are abusing starlets, there’s Nazis marching in the street, suddenly nude pantyhose are on trend. I’ve never felt more at home. When’s polio coming back?”

“I actually did have one meeting with Harvey,” she continued. “I was invited to his hotel room, and when I arrived, he was naked, hanging upside from a monkey bar. He tried to trick me into thinking his genitals were actually his face. The resemblance is uncanny.”

The sketch also addressed the fact that men in Hollywood are now suddenly falling over themselves to condemn sexual harassment.

“Is it reassuring that men are starting to speak out in support of their female costars?” asked panel host Aidy Bryant.

“Yes, but I hate this ‘oh I’m upset because I’m a father of daughters’,” said Cecily Strong, playing Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard. “You should be upset because you’re a human being.”

“Having a lady in the family doesn’t make you some kind of hero,” added Goldry.

While some viewers remained disappointed about how long it look the show to address the Weinstein scandal, the sketches certainly received a better reception than James Corden did when he tried to joke about the subject at the amfAR Gala on Saturday night.

“It’s a beautiful night here in LA” said the Late Late Show during his opening remarks as emcee at the charity event. “It’s so beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage.”

Corden referenced the scandal several more times throughout the evening, but later apologised for his remarks via Twitter.

“I was not trying to make light of Harvey’s inexcusable behavior, but to shame him,” he wrote. “I am truly sorry for anyone offended, that was never my intention.”