Eric Adams Said He Was ‘Laughing So Hard’ at His SNL Portrayal, Wants to Go on Show Himself: ‘He Had Me Down to a Science’

Sarah RumpfJan 16th, 2022, 3:49 pm
 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is not even three weeks into his tenure, but he’s already checked off a major milestone with a Big Apple institution: getting parodied on Saturday Night Live. Adams was a good sport about his late-night televised mocking, and tweeted some tips for the actor who portrayed him.

Adams, who was sworn into office shortly after the New Year’s ball dropped in Times Square, has found himself embroiled in a number of headlines that made national news, for reasons good, bad, and tragic: his 911 call to report a fight on a subway platform he witnessed during his commute on his first day of work, his pledge to keep schools open, his controversial comments about “low-skilled workers,” accusations of favoritism when he appointed his brother to a key New York Police Department (NYPD) post, and the city’s response to a deadly apartment fire in the Bronx.

SNL’s Chris Redd took on Adams’ blunt way of speaking and pride in his past as an NYPD captain.

The sketch opened with Broadway actress Ariana DeBose, the evening’s host, playing city hall spokesperson Emily Hernandez. She introduced Adams at a press conference as “your new mayor, the friskiest uncle at your barbecue!” as music played and the two danced around for a bit.

“What’s up, New York!” said Redd’s Adams. “It’s your boy, your hometown hero, Eric Adams, and you all feel that? Oh, yeah New York is back, baby. This city’s never had a mayor with so much swagger before.”

He claimed that this “swagger” was why “I haven’t been sick in over 60 years.”

As the reporters began shouting questions at him, he cut them off. “No! I do not do chaos in my city, okay, I told you all that. I was a police officer for over 70 years — if I get startled, I start beating people asses. I don’t wanna do that.”

“Okay, excuse me this man, he ain’t Bill de Blasio,” DeBose’s Hernandez piped up. “And he will kick your ass!”

“Now, now, she’s joking, but she’s from the Bronx, so is she?” the mayor quipped.

The sketch progressed from there, with Redd claiming increasingly absurd lengths of time for his tenure as a police officer (all the way up to “over 222 years”) and assigning nicknames to the reporters like “Little Squirrel Man” and “Weird Eminem.”

“Let’s have a great four years, everybody!” Redd’s Adams said to end the press conference, “B*tch, I’m from New York!”

Politico New York reporter Erin Durkin asked Adams what he thought about the sketch, and he told her that he was “laughing so hard,” praising Redd’s portrayal as having him “down to a science.” Adams also said that he wants to go on SNL himself sometime.

Adams also posted a tweet lauding Redd’s performance, calling it “hilarious” and saying that Redd “looked GREAT” but forgot his earring. The mayor also noted that it wasn’t true he hadn’t been sick in 60 years, and encouraged New Yorkers to get vaccinated and boosted.

Redd replied that he appreciated Adams’ tweet. “Notes taken and I got you next time!”

Watch the video above, via NBC.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law & Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on the BBC, MSNBC, NewsNation, Fox 35 Orlando, Fox 7 Austin, The Young Turks, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and other television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe.