'Saturday Night Live' addresses the 2020 vice-presidential debate in a divisive sketch about the fly and Herman Cain
- NBC's "Saturday Night Live" recreated the 2020 vice-presidential debate between Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and Vice President Mike Pence (Beck Bennett).
- The show zeroed in on the viral moment when a fly landed on Pence's hair during Wednesday's debate.
- The writers chose to make Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (Jim Carrey) and the late former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain (Kenan Thompson) into the bugs.
- "SNL" fans were torn about the show's use of Cain, who died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Fans expected NBC's "Saturday Night Live" to cover the 2020 vice-presidential debate in its cold open, but many didn't foresee the skit's shocking twist.
As anticipated, the cold open recreated the viral moment when a fly landed on Vice President Mike Pence, played by Beck Bennett, during the Wednesday night debate against Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, portrayed by Maya Rudolph.
The writers created their own backstory for the bug, however, pretending Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who was played on the sketch show by Jim Carrey, accidentally transformed into a fly and teleported to the debate. He eventually turns into Jeff Goldblum, who starred in the 1986 film "The Fly."
And though Carrey's Biden was determined to take matters into his own hands and "save the soul of this nation," he was soon joined by a fly claiming he was Herman Cain, the late former GOP presidential candidate, played by Kenan Thompson.
Cain died in July after being hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Before testing positive, he had attended President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the pandemic, where he didn't appear to wear a mask.
Thompson's Cain explained that he was reincarnated as a fly after "these fools — Trump and Pence — killed me, man."
He continued, "They invited me to a rally, said, 'Everything was fine, Herman.' I catch corona, Trump tells me, 'Everything is fine, Herman.' The White House doctors check me out, tell me, 'Everything is fine, Herman.' Three days later I'm gone. If you're watching this at home, don't trust this white devil about that 'rona."
The "SNL" writers' decision to include Cain in the skit was immediately met with mixed reactions.
Some people applauded the scenario and even called it "tremendous" and "funny."
Others didn't approve of the mention of Cain on the show, viewing it as "disrespectful" and "tasteless" to include him since he died in recent months.
And while many people debated whether or not they approved of the cold open on Saturday's episode of "SNL," others were more focused on who they would've cast as the fly.
You can watch the full sketch below.