SNL Cold Open Has Dr. Fauci, ‘The Patron Saint of Purell’, And CDC Doctors With Some Truly Awkward Skits About Face Masks

 

The Saturday Night Live cold open featured Kate McKinnon in the role of Dr. Anthony Fauci, leading some CDC doctors in a series of deliberately terrible and awkward skits about face masks in light of the new guidance released this week.

“It’s your boy, Fauci, the patron saint of Purell!” McKinnon exclaimed as an introduction.

“As you probably heard, we got some very good news this week and I’m not just talking about J. Lo and Ben Affleck.” McKinnon’s Fauci quipped, referring to the new CDC guidelines. Many people still had questions, he explained, so “I found a few doctors at the CDC who minored in theater and I asked them to re-enact some scenarios. And remember, they only had 24 hours to put this whole show together, so, please welcome the CDC players and their first scene, ‘Man walks into a bar.'”

Various members of the cast performed a series of role play scenarios, including a bar scene, traveling on an airplane, going to a party, and riding the subway.

One clip had a young couple who had started dating during the pandemic, and were excited to finally take off their masks, but then Chloe Fineman’s character didn’t like the appearance of the bottom of her boyfriend’s face. “It looks like you grew mold under your mask,” she remarked unhappily.

Another party scene set in the future showed people talking about what they were going to do with their face masks now that they were no longer needed, including making a parachute for a pet hamster and several bikini ideas.

Watch the video above, via NBC.

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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 television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.