Donald Trump

‘SNL' Taps Matt Damon for a Raging Kavanaugh, Kanye Performs

'SNL' kicked off the 44th season in a star-studded episode, with Matt Damon appearing in the cold open and Kanye West performing new music

Judge Brett Kavanaugh was the center of attention on "Saturday Night Live's" season 44 premiere, with Matt Damon playing a sniffling and shouting Supreme Court nominee defending himself against sexual assault allegations.

The show opened with a portrayal of Kavanaugh's fiery and emotional hearing, opting to skip an impression of Christine Blasey Ford's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. On Thursday, Ford said with "100 percent" certainty that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teens. Kavanaugh defiantly said he is "100 percent certain" he didn't do it, and the FBI is now conducting a background investigation into Ford's claims before the full Senate votes on his confirmation.

"We've heard from the alleged victim, but now it's time to hear from the hero, Judge Brett Kavanaugh," said a stern Alex Moffat as committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley.

A raging Damon played up the outbursts that littered Kavanaugh's testimony by yelling into the microphone, audibly sniffling between shouts, aggressively flipping pages of his script and choking up at the mention of his high school friends and now famous summer calendars. He stayed hydrated too, chugging glasses of water and spilling them down his suit.

"I'm gonna start at an 11," Damon's Kavanaugh cried. "I'ma take it to about a 15 real quick!"

Damon made it clear to the committee, which included Cecily Strong as Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Kate McKinnon as Sen. Lindsey Graham, that he really liked beer.

"I'm usually an optimist. I'm a keg is half-full kind of guy," Damon said.

But he didn't appreciate when Sen. Amy Klobuchar, in a special appearance by "SNL" vet Rachel Dratch, asked if he ever blacked out.

"I don't know, did you? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Damon shot back. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I think I blacked out for a second."

The real Kavanaugh apologized to the real Klobuchar too after asking if the senator, who said her father was an alcoholic, ever blacked out from drinking.

Aidy Bryant sat at "this weird little baby desk" to play Rachel Mitchell, the sex crimes prosecutor hired by the committee's Republican senators to question Ford and Kavanaugh. But Bryant didn't get much screen time after constantly being cut off by Moffat's Grassley.

"Ok, I cannot believe I flew here on Southwest for this," Bryant's Mitchell groaned.

The real Mitchell questioned Ford for all of the committee Republicans, but many of those senators chose to claim their time with Kavanaugh.

Don't forget Alyssa Milano. After the actress attended the real hearing and could be seen on camera staring at Kavanaugh from behind, she popped up behind Damon's Kavanaugh as well — if only in the form of a cardboard cutout.

And with the unwavering support from the committee Republicans, Damon's Kavanaugh made a grand pledge to Democrats in his closing remarks. 

"If you think I'm angry now, you just wait till I get on that Supreme Court, cause then you're all gonna pay," Damon scoffed before shotgunning a can of water.

In "Weekend Update", Colin Jost and Michael Che kept Kavanaugh in the spotlight. With their typical lighthearted digs, Jost described Thursday's hearing as "a classic debate of she said, he yelled."

Che used his time to reflect on what he thought of Kavanaugh's unbecoming qualities.

"I don't know if Mr. Kavanaugh has a history of assault or if he actually has a drinking problem," Che said. "But I do know that he might. And you shouldn't be on the Supreme Court if you might. You shouldn't be on the People's Court if you might." 

Actor Adam Driver hosted and the night's musical guest was Kanye West, who has recently taken heat for his political views and support of President Donald Trump. He performed his new song, "I Love It," dressed as a bottle of Perrier with fellow rapper Lil' Pump as a bottle of water. 

West also performed while wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted that he didn't see the show but did appreciate one appearance.

"Like many, I don’t watch Saturday Night Live (even though I past hosted it) - no longer funny, no talent or charm. It is just a political ad for the Dems. Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told “no”), was great. He’s leading the charge!" he wrote.

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