Scarlett Johansson Plays “Scary Mom” Katie Britt In ‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open Spoof Of GOP Senator’s Bizarre State Of The Union Response

Ted Johnson
·3-min read

When Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) delivered her State of the Union response on Thursday, it was so dramatic and over the top that it was quickly compared to a Saturday Night Live skit.

SNL took the bait tonight, this time with Scarlett Johansson making a surprise appearance as Britt.

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From the spotless kitchen set, Johansson’s Britt told viewers, “Good evening America, my name is Katie Britt, and I have the honor of serving the people of the great state of Alabama. But tonight, I’ll be auditioning for the part of scary mom.”

She went on, “I’ll be performing an original monologue called ‘This country is hell.’ You see, I’m not just a senator. I’m a wife, a mother, and the craziest bitch in the Target parking lot.”

Britt’s SOTU response has been panned on the left and the right for its bizarre delivery, with some comparing it to bad acting from a Lifetime movie.

In the wake of the mockery over Britt’s response, journalist Jonathan Katz posted a TikTok video laying out another revelation about Britt’s speech. She told a story of a woman she met on a visit to Texas who told her about being sex trafficked by the cartels. Britt put the blame on President Joe Biden’s border policies, and made it sound as if the woman’s traumatic experience happened recently and in the U.S. In fact, according to the Washington Post, the woman’s experiences took place in Mexico and when George W. Bush was president.

In the sketch, Johansson as Britt told viewers, “First and foremost, I’m a mom, and like any mom, I’m going to do a pivot out of nowhere into a shockingly violent story about sex trafficking. Rest assured, every detail about it is real except the year, where it took place, and who was president when it happened.”

Johansson’s Britt then broke into full QVC mode, as she started to hawk a diamond necklace that “goes with anything, and you can wear it from da’ church to da’ club.”

The sketch also mocked the choice of setting for Britt’s speech — the kitchen.

“You know, my husband Wesley and I spend a lot of time in this kitchen — worrying. Kitchens are where families have the hard conversations like the one we’ll have now about how mommy freaked out the entire country.”

One of the main criticisms of Britt’s response was its strange mix of sunny disposition and dark talk — as if she was a character from a psycho-thriller.

In the sketch, Britt told viewers, “It’s like I tell my kids every night: We are steeped in the blood of patriots in a castle made of bones. Goodnight kids!”

Then she finished with a moment that mimicked some of the senator’s actual words: “The American people who are struggling right now, know this: We hear you. We see you. We smell you. We’re inside your kitchen right now looking through your fridge. And what’s that on the top shelf? Migrants.”

The premise of the skit was CNN’s coverage of the State of the Union address, starting with anchor Abby Phillip (Ego Nwodim) introducing Joe Biden (Mikey Day). At the rostrum, an energetic and amped-up POTUS, heckled by a MAGA-attired Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Marjorie, thanks for dressing up tonight,” Biden said.

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