One of the biggest surprises from the election to some folks up North is the fact that Georgia flipped blue in November, then elected two Democratic U.S. senators.
So it’s no shock that the New York-based writers of “Saturday Night Live,” who have lampooned Georgia as some sort of hick backwards state for years, decided to do it again this past Saturday but with a twist.
John Krasinski, the guest host, plays a sheriff of a small Georgia town who arrives at a diner with his cousin Lee (Pete Davidson) from New York.
Miss Crystal (Aidy Bryant), the waitress, instead of serving a Southern staple like chicken and grits, offers up “avocado on gluten-free toast,” using a super heavy “Southern” accent. She also criticizes CNN for its “corporate neo-liberal both-sides nonsense. Just give me my Rachel Maddow on MSNBC any day!”
Beck Bennett plays Skeeter dressed like he owns a plantation circa 1855 but actually “owns the electric truck dealership down yonder,” as the sheriff drawls. When Lee says he’s Jewish, Skeeter responds, “You know what we do to Jewish people down here? We elect them!” Bryant mispronounces Ossoff’s name but says he makes “this shiksa blush.”
A character named Biscuit, played by actual Georgia native Kenan Thompson, is reading “the Good Book,” as in Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.”
Alex Moffatt arrives in a MAGA hat and says he came in from Florida. “I don’t know what they’re teaching you in Florida, but this is Georgia,” the sheriff says. “This is Stacey Abrams country.”
“The Republic of Stankonia,” Biscuit says.
“Birthplace of R.E.M. and TLC,” Skeeter adds.
After Moffatt’s character is booted, a health inspector comes in wondering why nobody is wearing a mask. Davidson looks into the camera, shrugs his shoulders and says, “That’s Georgia!”
The same episode featured Cecily Strong in the cold open playing Marjorie Taylor Greene, the conservative U.S. House representative from Georgia known for embracing conspiracy theories. Kate McKinnon expresses shock and wonder that she was actually elected. And her “Jewish space lasers” reference becomes a punchline during “Weekend Update.”
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