Maya Rudolph bows to popular demand, impersonates Rachel Dolezal

(Image credit: Late Night)

When Sarah Palin was thrust onto the national stage as Sen. John McCain's 2008 running mate, lots of people told Tina Fey she had step up and do Palin on Saturday Night Live. A similar thing is happening with SNL alum Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dolezal, the ex-NAACP official in Spokane who identifies as black even though her family says she's white, Rudolph told Seth Meyers on Late Night. "It happens to me every day."

Meyers asked, too, and Rudolph said yes, pulling out a handy Rachel Dolezal wig, In case you haven't seen the supremely awkward interview Dolezal gave to a local TV news reporter, Meyers plays it, and then re-enacts it with Rudolph. "I think America really missed out," Rudolph joked to Meyers afterward. And it's true — SNL wrapped up its 40th season in May, weeks before Dolezal became a household name, and nobody will remember Dolezal's name by the next season opener. But thanks to Late Night, America got at least a little taste of what might have been. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.