Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock Burst Every Democrat's Bubble in One Perfect 'SNL' Sketch

Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock burst every Democrat's bubble in one perfect 'Saturday Night Live' sketch.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Every so often, Saturday Night Live hits the nail so squarely on the head that we’re instantly reminded why it’s managed to endure all these years as a pillar of American satire. Last night’s episode was filled with such moments, which had a lot to do with host Dave Chappelle, who felt like the perfect choice to host SNL’s first post-election episode.

No sketch captured the zeitgeist quite like the opener, which saw Chappelle attending an election night party hosted by his white liberal friends. The night begins with a sense of calm, as the group casually discusses the election without the faintest sense of dread that their candidate might actually lose. “Because of shifting demographics, there might never be another Republican president in this country,” Beck Bennett says smugly. But Chappelle knows better. “Word. You ever been around this country before?” he fires back.

As the night progresses and Trump rattles off win after win, the group moves from calm to panic, and from wine to Xanax, a scene that likely played out pretty similarly in blue states across the country. As the group—which also includes Aidy Bryant, Vanessa Bayer, and Cecily Strong—descend further into a state of despair, Chris Rock shows up to join Chappelle in half-mocking them. “I don’t get you ladies,” Rock tells them. “The country is 55 percent women. If the country was 55 percent black, we’d have tons of black presidents. I mean, Flavor Flav would be president.”

Once it becomes clear that Hillary lost, Rock tries to offer an explanation. “I mean, maybe because you’re replacing a charismatic 40-year-old black guy with a 70-year-old white woman,” he joked. “That’s like the Knicks replacing Patrick Ewing with Neil Patrick Harris.”

Maybe laughter really is the best medicine. Well, that and Xanax.

Latest in Pop Culture