Kate McKinnon appeared on last night's episode of "Saturday Night Live ."- McKinnon portrayed Dr. Anthony Fauci in the episode's cold open.
Kate McKinnon transformed into Dr. Anthony Fauci in her "Saturday Night Live" return after a seven-episode hiatus.
In this week's episode, during which Billie Eilish hosted and performed, McKinnon, 37, reprised her as the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and addressed concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Her appearance on "Saturday Night Live" comes after she wrapped filming for the upcoming
"Do people still think I'm sexy or are we done with that? When people see me on TV, they think, this can't be good. And their children think, wow, that Elf on the Shelf got old," McKinnon said.
McKinnon then introduced her "Saturday Night Live" castmates as "members of the CDC" to perform several scenarios people might encounter this holiday season.
At one point, the cast poked fun at rapper Nicki Minaj and her claim that her cousin's friend had swollen testicles because of the vaccine. In the vignette, Kyle Mooney played Santa Claus and Melissa Villaseñor portrayed a pigtail-wearing child.
"What would you like for Christmas little girl. Sorry, you can't sit on my lap anymore. Thanks to the vaccine, my balls have ballooned in size," Mooney said. "They're as big as grapes now."
McKinnon quickly jumped in to clarify that the claim "was a conspiracy theory" and joked she was "concerned about that man."
The cold open also took a swing at former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (played by Pete Davidson) and his brother, recently fired CNN host Chris Cuomo (played by Andrew Dismukes).
"We both lost our jobs," Davidson said, before pausing and adding, "because of Covid."
Cecily Strong and Chloe Fineman both toted fake assault rifles as they appeared as Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.
The final vignette guest was Aidy Bryant, who reprised her role as Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
"Clearly, this country is divided," McKinnon said at the end of the skit. "But I think we all agree on at least a few things. We all want to spend time together with our families."
"Or run it back solo to Cancun," Bryant added.
Davidson continued that "family is all we have," before Dismukes added, "As of two weeks ago."