The 44th season of Saturday Night Live kicked off with Matt Damon doing an impression of Brett Kavanaugh, and everyone needs to see it.
The sketch-filled show returned to television screens last night (September 29), but before host Adam Driver had even made an appearance, Damon appeared in a courtroom as controversial judge Kavanaugh.
Christine Blasey Ford testified against the Supreme Court nominee on Thursday, accusing him of sexual assault. Kavanaugh angrily denied the allegations in a long opening statement, where he also admitted he ‘sometimes probably had too many beers’.
Damon’s impression was inspired by Kavanaugh’s lengthy statement, and the actor began his sketch with an anger filled ‘WHAT?!’
Take a look at a clip here:
Presumably referring to the volume of his voice, Damon shouted:
I’m gonna start at 11, then I’m gonna take it to 15 real quick!
He mocked Kavanaugh throughout the scene, though thankfully cut the 45-minute opening statement to a much more manageable length.
He continued to make fun of Kavanaugh’s explanation of how his speech came to exist:
This is my speech. There are others like it but this is mine. I wrote it myself last night, while screaming into an empty bag of Doritos.
The actor then began to mock the Supreme Court nominee for the way he expressed a love of beer, saying:
I am usually an optimist. I’m a keg half full kind of guy.
But what I see from the monsters on this committee makes me want to puke. And not from beer.
When asked if he would consider himself a ‘frequent drinker’, Damon stepped the beer-loving up a notch, replying:
Look, I like beer, okay? I like beer. Boys like beer, girls like beer, I like beer.
I like beer!
The Jason Bourne star also made sure to refer to Kavanaugh’s ‘detailed calendars recording [his] activities in the summer of 1982’, which the judge appeared to get very emotional over.
Of course, this made perfect material for Damon, of which he took full advantage by holding up some examples of the ‘creepy’ calendars and pretending to tear up over them.
Damon closed his dramatic speech with a frighteningly possible real-life glimpse into the future, shouting:
You think I’m angry now, just wait till I’m on the Supreme Court. Then you’re gonna pay!
Many Saturday Night Live viewers loved Damon’s imitation and took to social media to express their delight.
One viewer wrote:
Matt Damon just crushed it on SNL. That was hilarious.
Another praised the actor’s performance, tweeting:
Matt Damon as a bitter, sniffling, yelling, very guilty Brett Kavanaugh is…
… PERFECT.
A third added:
This is single handedly the greatest Saturday Night Live open of the last 5 years. Matt Damon, I love you. SNL, I’ve missed you.
While one person insisted the sketch was Damon’s greatest appearance in recent years, writing:
Pretty sure that was Matt Damon’s best performance in the past five years, big or small screen.
I think it was certainly a successful opening to the show!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.