Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she likes her SNL portrayal, would like to use 'Ginsburned' on her colleagues


Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in Park City, Utah, on Sunday for the debut of a documentary about her at the Sundance Film Festival. Ginsburg, 84, talked about her life, career, family, friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, and "Notorious RBG" nickname, and promised her health "is very good" and she'll stay on the court "as long as I can do the job full steam." At one point, moderator Nina Totenberg noted that the film crew on the documentary, RBG, had shown Ginsburg a clip of Kate McKinnon portraying her on SNL.
"So what did you think of your portrayal on Saturday Night Live?" Totenberg asked. "I like the actress who portrayed me," Ginsburg said. "And I would like to say 'Ginsburned' sometimes to my colleagues."
If you're not familiar with McKinnon's Ginsburg impersonation, here's an example:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ginsburg also weighed in on some films winning big awards this year and said she was heartened by the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment, Deadline reports. "For so long women were silent, thinking there was nothing you could about it," she said. "But now the law is on the side of women or men who encounter harassment, and that's [a] big thing." Totenberg asked about a #MeToo backlash, and Ginsburg didn't seem too concerned. "So far it's been great," she said. "When I see women appearing everywhere in numbers I am less worried about that."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in Fiji
Under the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’
Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle