Rob Schneider says 'SNL' was 'over' after Kate McKinnon performed 'Hallelujah' as Hillary Clinton

2 years ago
81.9K

Actor Rob Schneider knew when "Saturday Night Live" was "over." The "SNL" alum, who kickstarted his career as a writer on the show in 1989, said Kate McKinnon's rendition of "Hallelujah" dressed as Hillary Clinton was the demise of the hit sketch show. The 58-year-old, who later joined as a cast member between 1990 and 1994, slammed the show's infamous post-2016 election cold open. Rob Schneider sounded off on McKinnon dressing as Clinton for the post-2016 election cold open, stating when he saw the performance he thought the show "was over." "I hate to crap on my own show," the "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" star said on "The Glenn Beck Podcast" Saturday. "When Hillary Clinton lost — which is understandable. She’s not exactly the most likable person in the room. And then when Kate McKinnon went out there on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in the cold opening and all that, and she started dressed as Hillary Clinton, and she started playing ‘Hallelujah.’ I literally prayed, ‘Please have a joke at the end.'" Kate McKinnon plays Hillary Clinton as she sings Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" during the post-election cold open sketch on "SNL." "'Don’t do this. Please don’t go down there.’ And there was no joke at the end, and I went, ‘It’s over. It’s over. It’s not gonna come back,'" Schneider added. McKinnon's performance of Leonard Cohen's hit song has been viewed more than 13 million times on the show's official YouTube page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Hc-x5RJpE McKinnon, 38, portrayed a parody version of Clinton on the series throughout the 2016 election cycle. She left "SNL" earlier this year. McKinnon told Esquire she thinks “Hallelujah” is "the most beautiful song ever written, one of my top three songs of all time my whole life." “I’d always understood ‘Hallelujah’ in the context of a romantic relationship, as had most of us,” MacKinnon told the outlet. "And then this verse — in this moment when it was so emotional for everyone in the country, when no matter what side you were on, it was a moment of surprise and high-octane emotion -- I suddenly understood it in a new light. It’s about love, and how love is a slog but it’s worth it." (From left) Heidi Gardner, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Kate McKinnon and host Natasha Lyonne appear on the "Women's Commercial" sketch for "SNL." "I suddenly understood it as, like, the love of this idea that is America. That all people are created equal, and that’s the most beautiful idea in the world, but the execution has been long and tough and we’re still just trying to get it right. But that it’s worth it, and that it will always be worth it," the comedian added. McKinnon recently revealed why she quit the hit sketch show in May after 10 memorable years, saying her "body was tired, and I felt like it was time."

Loading 118 comments...