Atlanta’s Nancy Grace gets ‘SNL’ treatment for first time since 2014
Atlanta’s veteran true crime host Nancy Grace received the “Saturday Night Live” treatment on Dec. 14 for the first time more than a decade.
During the skit show’s five-minute cold open, Sarah Sherman ― wearing a classic Grace-like wig and working her heavy Southern accent super hard ― reported about the capture of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Dec. 6.
“Everyone online celebrated the hard work of law enforcement in apprehending this dangerous criminal. Just kidding. Y’all suckers made him a sex symbol!” Sherman’s Grace said. She then compared him to “Dave Franco with Eugene Levy’s eyebrows.”
Sherman’s Grace, then added, “This man is not a sex icon. This man is – and I cannot say this any clearer – a murderer.” But she pronounced it “mordoror.”
Discussing Mangione’s alleged use of a “ghost gun,” Sherman’s Grace said: “I could use a ghost gun because every night I wake up to JonBenet’s spirit screaming, ‘You used me!’”
“SNL” also made fun of the fact that her show, available on YouTube, is often interrupted by super loud pop-up ads (Marcello Hernandez pitching ED pills).
And Sherman’s Grace spoke to a person who looks a lot like Mangione played by cast member Emil Wakim, who indeed has a decent resemblance to Mangione. “I haven’t paid for a meal in Brooklyn in days!” Wakim said.
Grace ― who currently hosts a show called “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” available for free on Tubi and YouTube and is part of Merit Street Media with Dr. Phil and Steve Harvey ― herself has never appeared on the show, but Sherman is the fifth “SNL” cast member over the past quarter-century to play Grace. Ana Gasteyer played her in 2000, followed by Amy Poehler in 2006 and 2007, Abby Elliott in 2009 and 2011 and Noël Wells in 2014.
In a text, Grace described watching it with a single word: “Hilarious!”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
