The open cold of Saturday night live satirized different perceptions of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, including the assumption among whites that justice will actually be served.
The parody featured the news show Eye in Minnesota and his four-person anchor team, with Kenan Thompson and Ego Nwodim as seated presenters on the left, opposite Kate McKinnon and Alex Moffat as news personalities on the right, as they discuss what has happened so far in the case.
“I thought the prosecution did an excellent job of questioning the medical examiner,” McKinnon said at first.
“The video footage alone should tell you everything you need to know about what happened … And hopefully justice will be served,” Moffat said.
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“It seems that we all agree. There’s no way Derek Chauvin is getting away from all of this, ”McKinnon said.
Then the camera switches to Thompson and Nwodim, who said: “Well…“
“Wait a second. You guys aren’t buying Chauvin’s defense, are you? Moffat asks.
“Of course not,” Thompson said.
“I mean, the defense trying to argue that George Floyd’s drug use is in any way responsible is simply deplorable,” Nwodim said.
“It was a clear act of desperation to create doubts where there are none,” Thompson said.
“Exactly. And there’s no way the jury will be fooled by that!” McKinnon said.
Then Thompson and Nwodim intervened, again expressing their doubts. “We don’t know about that.”
The skit continued to highlight the faith of white presenters in the system in the face of skepticism from their black counterparts.
“Let’s say we’ve seen this movie before,” Nwodim said.
“Boom!” Thompson added.
“Historically, police officers have escaped in other cases like this,” McKinnon said.
“Historically?” Thompson said. “It refers to all the times,” Nwodim explained.
But through the parody, McKinnon and Moffat continue to reveal their naivety about the system.
“I want to choose my words carefully here, to quote Thomas Jefferson …” said Moffat.
“That’s a bad start,” Thompson replied.
Later, they spoke about the possible consequences and the hope that justice will finally be served.
“The last thing we want is another riot,” Thompson said.
“Amen,” said Nwodim.
Then Moffat took another step. “And I think we can all agree that no matter how bad things are, destroying property is Never the answer.”
So Thompson and Nwodim weren’t exactly going for it. “I wouldn’t say that,” said Nwodim. “… There is insurance.”
“It is not just property. I think the protests should be non-violent, ”Moffat said, in a slightly haughty tone.
Thompson sarcastically replied, “Well, thanks for that little note.”
The funniest moment of the opening came towards the end, when they moved on to other topics on the news.
“More sad news. Unfortunately, we lost royalty yesterday, ”McKinnon said.
“Yes, the rapper DMX died,” said Nwodim.
“I was talking about the Prince,” McKinnon corrected.
“Girl, Prince is dead,” Nwodim replied.
“No, it refers to Prince Philip of England,” Moffat said.
“Meghan Markle’s boyfriend?” Thompson asked.
Look at the total cold open above.