‘SNL’ Cold Open Mocks Trump Allies, Taylor Swift Makes Cameo
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Saturday Night Live, the long-running American comedy show, is known for its political humour. A recent episode included a cold open that mocked several Republican political figures.
An actor portrayed U.S. official Pete Hegseth drinking a non-alcoholic beer, in a joke connected to actor Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man in films. The scene also satirized politicians Mitch McConnell and JD Vance.
A cold open is the comedic sketch that opens each SNL episode, before the show's official introduction. These sketches often focus on current political events and well-known public figures.
This episode also featured a surprise cameo from singer Taylor Swift, which delighted fans watching the show. Her appearance added an unexpected highlight to the broadcast.
Additionally, the episode gave some promotion to Donald Trump near its end, according to reports. SNL has a long history of both mocking and acknowledging major political figures within the same show.
The episode reflects SNL's continuing approach of blending comedy with commentary on American politics, particularly targeting Republican allies of Trump.
Vocabulary10 words
- Saturday Night Live
- a well-known American TV comedy show, often shortened to SNL
- cold open
- the comedy sketch at the very start of a show, before the main introduction
- satirized
- made fun of someone or something to show their faults
- cameo
- a short, surprise appearance by a famous person in a show
- promotion
- giving positive attention to help someone's image or popularity
- Republican
- a member of one of the two major political parties in the U.S.
- sketch
- a short, funny scene performed for comedy
- broadcast
- a show sent out on TV or radio
- commentary
- spoken or written opinions about an event or topic
- public figure
- someone well known to the public, like a politician or celebrity
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Mocking Republican political figures 2. Tom Holland 3. True
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
_____, the long-running American comedy show, is known for its political humour. A recent episode included a _____ that mocked several Republican political figures.
An actor portrayed U.S. official Pete Hegseth drinking a non-alcoholic beer, in a joke connected to actor Tom Holland, who plays _____ in films. The scene also satirized politicians Mitch McConnell and JD _____.
A cold open is the comedic sketch that opens each SNL episode, before the show's official _____.
This episode also featured a surprise _____ from singer Taylor Swift, which delighted fans watching the show.
Additionally, the episode gave some _____ to Donald Trump near its end, according to reports.
The episode reflects SNL's continuing approach of blending comedy with _____ on American politics.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think political comedy shows like SNL are popular?
- Do you think making jokes about politicians is a healthy part of democracy? Why or why not?
- How might a surprise celebrity cameo affect a show's popularity?
- Do you follow any political satire shows? What do you enjoy about them?
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