Following the State of the Union rebuttal video from Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, Lorne Michaels & Co. called in a favor from within the SNL family when it came to casting their version of Katie as they asked Scarlett Johansson, a frequent host (she's a Five Timer) and the spouse of "Weekend Update" anchor Colin Jost, to do it. Now, the politician has responded to the sketch and the actress who played her.
ScarJo popped up as Britt during the political cold open of last weekend's episode—hosted by Dune: Part Two star Josh Brolin with Ariana Grande as musical guest—mimicking the politician's wide-eyed, slightly manic delivery and nailing all of the writers' barbed punchlines. ("I'm not just a senator. I’m a wife, a mother, and the craziest bitch in the Target parking lot.") It had both the studio audience and viewers at home roaring with laughter, but what did Katie Britt herself think of the actress's impersonation?
Per The Recount, she told Senator Ted Cruz during an appearance on his "Verdict" podcast about ScarJo playing her:
The casting also apparently got the approval of Britt's children, who approved of having Black Widow herself playing their mother:
Cruz is no stranger to being satirically skewered on the iconic sketch-comedy show: he's previously been portrayed by former SNL cast member Aidy Bryant, who he calls "really funny." Though he did tell Britt that he's jealous she got to be portrayed by "a gorgeous movie star" like ScarJo:
Prior to playing Katie Britt, Scarlett Johansson notably played another political figure, Ivanka Trump, in a 2017 SNL episode alongside Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump.
Who knows if ScarJo will be returning for even more surprise cameos as the politician as Saturday Night Live Season 49 continues to air on the 2024 TV schedule. But, if Britt does anything similarly shocking, we'll be happy to see Johansson don that brunette wig and those sinister vibes again!
To go back and watch the episode Scarlett Johansson appeared in, all you need is a Peacock subscription. You can also catch new episodes of SNL on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC or the streamer.