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:
I mean, how awesome is that?...I was pretty pumped about that. You obviously know you’re gonna be a part of the cold open and you wonder, ‘Who in the world is gonna play you, right? I’ll be honest with you, a bingo card for 2024 for Katie Britt, I did not have this on it, right? I certainly didn’t have Scarlett Johansson playing me.
The casting also apparently got the approval of Britt's children, who approved of having Black Widow herself playing their mother:
We were talking to the kids about all of it and they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, mom and duh duh duh.’ I said, ‘You know, look. It could have been worse. You have Black Widow. They bring in someone from the Avengers to play me in the cold open. I’m here for it. I am here for it.' So it was a pretty fun moment.
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:
Scarlett Johansson is hot, and I am genuinely jealous. SNL has come after me a bunch of times. They don’t ever have Tom Cruise play me. How come you get a gorgeous movie star?...at least you were played by a woman. I’ve also been played by a woman. They cast Aidy Bryant as me, and she’s really funny. Coming off the whole Cancun thing, they had her in like cornrows and sipping a margarita. And it was hysterical. I laughed. I thought it was awesome. And she looks pretty good in a beard, by the way. It’s a good look.
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.
