SNL’s Abortion Clown Sketch Hailed by Left as ‘Bold and Brilliant,’ Decried by Conservatives as ‘Grotesque and Not Funny’

Leia IdlibyNov 8th, 2021, 12:59 pm
 

Saturday Night Live sparked a contentious debate over abortion rights with Cecily Strong’s performance as Goober the Clown — who had a “clown abortion” at 23.

Unmistakenly resembling Loonette from the children’s series The Big Comfy Couch, Strong sat down with Colin Jost on Saturday’s Weekend Update, during which she addressed the Texas law that essentially bans abortion after six weeks.

“It’s a rough subject,” Strong said as Goober, adding, “So we’re gonna do fun clown stuff to make it more palatable. Who wants a balloon animal?”

The sketch continued to get increasingly absurd, Strong using Goober’s chaotic disposition to comment on the divisive topic, even pointing to genuine facts on the issue.

“I wish I didn’t have to do this because my abortion at 23 is my personal clown business, but that’s all some people in this country want to discuss all the time, even though clown abortion was legalized in Clown v. Wade in 1973,” Strong said. “Did you know one in three clowns will have a clown abortion in her lifetime? You don’t because they don’t tell you.”

“They don’t even know how to talk to other clowns about it, because when they do talk about it, if you were a clown who wasn’t the victim of something sad like clown-cest, they think your clown abortion wasn’t a ‘righteous clown abortion,’” she added. “I mean, what the dick is that?!”

When Jost pushed back, noting that cursing is not allowed on SNL, Strong insisted, “It’s funny, Colin, we’re just having fun.”

“Laugh! I need it! I need you to laugh so hard, like the way I laughed when the doctor asked if I got pregnant on my way over to the clinic because I wasn’t very far along,” she said, adding, “Not like a funny-haha joke, but like, a funny, you’re not an awful person and your life isn’t over now joke. The best kind! A-honka honka!”

Those on the left largely praised Strong for the sketch, pointing to her ability to comment on a serious topic through humor.

“The more people who share, the less stigma there is, the fewer people feel alone,” noted Rabbi and author Danya Ruttenberg, while others called for Strong to receive an Emmy for the bit.

Conservatives, however, were not as impressed by Goober the Clown and her abortion, slamming the sketch as “grotesque and not funny.”

…

Tags: