Saturday Night Live took aim at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his administration's handling of COVID deaths at nursing homes.
In the cold open, Britney Spears, portrayed by Chloe Fineman, host a show called Oops... You Did It Again, where scandal-hit public figures were given the opportunity to apologize.
Cuomo, played by cast member Pete Davidson, came out after Fineman's Spears said he had "some 'splainin do do."
"Hey, hello, alright, let's get this over with," Davidson says in Cuomo's gravelly voice.
"Governor, do you know why you're here today?" Fineman's Spears asked him.
"Is it because indoor dining is back in New York? That's exciting right?" Davidson's Cuomo said.
He then took a moment, before conceding: "Alright, I know. It's because of the nursing home stuff."
Asked to elaborate, Davidson's Cuomo says: "Some of the people who died in the nursing homes were not counted as nursing home deaths, they were counted as hospital deaths."
He then attempts to explain it away as the same thing that happens at Disney parks.
"People die and they move the bodies," Davidson's Cuomo adds. "They say, 'Oh, I guess Brenda died in the parking lot, not on the teacups!' So you know we just did the Disney thing. Alright, so we done here?"
Asked whether he ought to apologize, Davidson's Cuomo grimaces before reluctantly admitting that he should.
"What was that?" Fineman's Spears asks.
"I said I was sorry," he says.
"See, that wasn't so hard," Fineman's Spears says, before noting that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said Cuomo ought to be investigated.
"What did that bird b***h say about me?" Davidson's Cuomo yells. "I will bury him in the tallest grave this city has ever seen. I will hire a hobo to Rick Moranis him so hard he'll think he's back in universal pre-K!"
He then apologizes for the outburst, saying: "I'm sorry, I get a little angry now and then and always."
When Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, played by Aidy Bryant, interjects to commiserate with Cuomo about how they are both "strong, misunderstood men."
The Republican senator has come under fire for a widely-panned jaunt to Mexico as Texans suffered through a historic winter storm.
"Do not associate yourself with me," Davidson's Cuomo tells Bryant's Cruz.
"We are not the same. I am a man, you are a clown. And if you mess with me, I will send you to a clown hospital... and when you die, I will not count your body."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
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