Saturday Night Live uses cold open to slam host network NBC over Trump town hall


Saturday Night Live managed to get in a few digs at its host network, NBC, over President Trump's controversial town hall last week.
More than 100 Hollywood writers and stars had signed a letter asking NBCUniversal to reverse the decision to host a dueling town hall debate with Trump at exactly the same time that ABC was set to host its own town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The Oct. 17 episode of SNL used the snafu as comedic fodder: "One town hall was a thoughtful, cogent discussion of the issues facing our country. The other featured President Trump," the cold open began.
SNL went on to recreate both town halls, announcing Trump's portion with a scroll that read "NBC laid a thirst trap for President Trump."
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The "Weekend Update" portion of the show also criticized the network, with comedian Michael Che commenting that the Thursday shenanigans shouldn't be a surprise. "What can we say, we have a type," he said, with pictures of Bill Cosby and Matt Lauer — who have been accused of rape — appearing alongside Trump's. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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