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Maya Rudolph Made a Hysterical Kamala Harris in This Emmy-Winning SNL Episode
Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris hosted a "Unity Seder" during the 2021 episode hosted by the former cast member.
Saturday Night Live has excelled with its unrivaled political humor for decades, and Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris impression is one of SNL's most applauded political caricatures.
Harris made big headlines this weekend following President Joe Biden's decision to exit the race and endorse her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. Her latest campaign has led to renewed interest in Rudolph's work.
Rudolph helped bring several hysterical characters to life as an SNL cast member from 2000–2007, and, following her exit from the NBC sketch series, Rudolph returned to host three times and made dozens more SNL guest appearances — including several in the last five years to caricature Harris.
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Whether serving spot-on facial expressions or nailing Harris' vocal cadence, Rudolph delivered beloved charm with every meme-worthy reprisal as the current vice president.
Who plays Kamala Harris on SNL?
Maya Rudolph is the SNL legend with the honor of impersonating the first female vice president of the United States.
She debuted her impression of Harris in October 2019, during the Season 45 premiere cold open, "DNC Town Hall." Rudolph was guest appearing as the former California Senator alongside Larry David's Bernie Sanders and Kate McKinnon's Elizabeth Warren in a parody of CNN's 2019 Town Hall.
After introducing herself as "America's cool aunt. A fun aunt. I call that a 'Funt,'" it was clear that SNL had captured lightning in a bottle.
It also earned Rudolph a shout-out from Harris, who posted on social media to show Rudolph some appreciation.
Rudolph returned to the SNL stage for many Season 45 and Season 46 guest appearances as Harris.
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One of Rudolph's most applauded cameos was in Season 45's "PBS Democratic Debate" sketch, which first aired in December 2019. Harris had dropped out of the race to be the Democratic nominee in 2020 by that point, so Rudolph's Harris broke up the heated debate with a martini in hand.
She then told Americans they "could have had a bad b-tch" — echoing a lyric from "Truth Hurts" by the episode's musical guest Lizzo — and providing an infectious rap to help pronounce her name.
Rudolph's portrayal of Harris in that December 2019 SNL episode scored her the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Maya Rudolph's SNL Sketch "Kamala"
Rudolph scored her second Emmy from SNL after returning to Harris' shoes while hosting Season 46, Episode 15 on March 27, 2021 — her second time hosting.
The episode gifted viewers with the iconic "Beyoncé on Hot Ones" sketch, marked Jack Harlow's SNL debut, and featured guest appearances from a star-studded lineup including Martin Short, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and even The Voice's Adam Levine. It was also an opportunity for Rudolph to flex her impression of Vice President Harris in "Kamala."
The sketch began with a formal message from Harris, addressing the end of the pandemic amid the Passover holiday. She then invited viewers to join her in a unifying Seder dinner along with her husband, Short's Doug Emhoff.
After a ridiculously sultry interlude between Harris and her hubby, it was party time. Aidy Bryant's Senator Ted Cruz was the first to arrive, bearing pigs in a blanket (which are not Kosher) adorned with Israeli flags and cupcakes for the Jewish celebration that famously never features leavened breads or sweets.
After the trio swapped some polite passive aggressions, Harris' stepdaughter, the model Ella Emhoff (Chloe Fineman), and Kenan Thompson's Senator Raphael Warnock — who brought Manischewitz for the occasion — stopped in.
Alex Moffat took the party to the next level with his President Joe Biden, who claimed that a recent press conference was "so easy," but was compelled to check his notecards to clarify he "proved them all wrong."
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The final guest to show up to the Seder was House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, played by Cecily Strong.
Harris and Emhoff shortly thereafter ended the sketch with another intimate moment to themselves.
Watch Maya Rudolph's SNL sketches as Kamala Harris and stream all 49 seasons of Saturday Night Live on Peacock.
