SNL Premiere Highlights Biden’s LGBTQ Support, New Lesbian Cast Member

The LGBTQ+ community’s support of Joe Biden got a shoutout in the premiere of Saturday Night Live.
Colin Jost, the faux host of the satirical news skit Weekend Update, referenced a new poll from the media watchdog GLAAD on the subject, while also taking a jab at the former vice president.
“A new poll shows that 75 percent of LGBTQ voters support Joe Biden. But zero percent support Joe Biden guessing what the B, T, and Q stand for,” Jost said.
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Jokes aside, Biden, who The Advocate endorsed for president, is a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community who definitely knows the meaning of the acronym.
Jost also slightly underestimated Biden’s rainbow support. GLAAD’s State of LGBTQ Voters poll showed that 76 percent of likely LGBTQ+ voters would pull the lever at the polls for the Democrat.
Conversely, President Donald Trump received only 17 percent of support in the survey, which was conducted September 21 to 25 by Pathfinder Opinion Research. Only 16 percent of LGBTQ+ voters indicated having a favorable opinion of the Republican, versus 57 percent for his opponent.
In other positive news about LGBTQ+ representation, Saturday Night Live added Punkie Johnson to its lineup of cast members. The Black lesbian comedian appeared in a spoof of The Drew Barrymore Show as “Linda,” who shares she has accumulated a large pandemic-related debt. To assist, the fictionalized, sunny Barrymore excitedly announces the show will “renovate your walk-in closet.”
[embedded content]Bowen Yang, the gay comedian who made history last year as SNL’s first cast member of full Asian descent, also appeared on Weekend Update to portray Chen Biao, a Chinese trade representative discussing America’s ban on TikTok.
[embedded content]And in a heartwarming nod to the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Kate McKinnon made a cameo in the crowd dressed as the late liberal justice.
Hosted by Chris Rock, the premiere of SNL’s 46th season was hotly anticipated as it was the first live episode since the pandemic forced the comic sketch show to suspend its last season and then come back with pre-taped, at-home sketches.
The premiere began with Jim Carrey portraying Biden in a spoof of the recent disastrous debate with President Trump (Alec Baldwin), which also referenced Trump’s recent hospitalization due to the novel coronavirus. Maya Rudolph reprised her role as vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the cold open.
The episode ended with the cast waving from the 30 Rock stage wearing masks to an audience comprised mostly of essential workers. At the L.A. premiere of SNL, which was a drive-in screening of the live show, there was a similar slew of safety precautions in place, including temperature checks and a drive-by red carpet where guests posed from their cars on the Universal Studios Lot.
Watch the cold open below.
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Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Daniel Reynolds