Saturday Night Live wanted to spice up CNN’s recent Equality Town Hall, and what better way to do that than by bringing in award-winning performer Billy Porter? His introductions, which included describing Joe Biden as a “Delaware Daddy,” were just the beginning of the reimagined town hall.
First up was Sen. Cory Booker (Chris Redd). “My girlfriend was in Rent, so yeah, I get it,” he began his brief time on the stage. However, his time to answer questions was short-lived when a member of the audience (Aidy Bryant) asked him about an op-ed he wrote in 1992. “I don’t want you to think I’m dodging the question, so I’m going to go now,” he answered.
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Next up was South Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (Colin Jost), who couldn’t seem to understand why a Democratic gay man wouldn’t be the favorite at a Democratic town hall about equality and the LGBTQ+ community. “You’re a great guy, just like, as a friend. Not for president,” said Anderson Cooper (Alex Moffat) in a move that can only be described as “candidate-zoning.”
The clear favorite of the night was Elizabeth Warren, and not just because Kate McKinnon does a hilarious impersonation of her. She had answers, sick burns, and accessories for her presidential look. When prompted to answer how she would respond to the religious argument that marriage should be between a man and a woman, Warren came ready with her rebuttal. “I’m going to assume it’s a guy asking,” she began. Porter warned us of what’s to come, saying, “Ooh snap, the library is open and Miss Thing is about to get read.” Warren swapped out her glasses for a pair of purple sunglasses and said, “I would say, ‘Sir, tell me your bus stop because I want to know where you get off.’” She ended her time by literally snatching her own wig to a standing ovation. Warren’s actual answer wasn’t too far off. She began her answer to that very question the same way, “Well, I’m going to assume it’s a guy who said that,” before adding, “And I’m going to say, then just marry one woman. I’m cool with that.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda made an appearance as Julián Castro, though he seemed to think that the Equality Town Hall is code for “gets the be the new guest on Queer Eye.”
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Joe Biden, played again by Woody Harrelson, closed the town hall — and didn’t seem to hit the mark. “The vast majority of people in America are not homophobic, they’re just scared of gay people,” he said before flirting with the town hall attendee asking him a question. He ended his statement by thanking the fellow presidential hopefuls but “I’m your guy.”
Notably absent from the sketch were Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Tom Steyer, who all attended the actual town hall. Given Harris’ prominent role in previous SNL sketches, and how expertly she handled a protester in the audience interrupting her, her absence stood out.