Watch SNL’s Kate McKinnon Sing ‘Hallelujah’ in Moving Cold Open
For good or ill, perhaps no comedy series has benefit so much from Donald Trump as SNL. Following weeks of debate sketches, most everyone wondered how the late-night staple would react to Trump actually succeeding to the presidency, for which this weekend’s cold open brought Kate McKinnon’s Hillary out; both in tribute to Leonard Cohen, and to offer a moving “Hallelujah” going forward.
Rather than returning Alec Baldwin’s Trump, this week’s Dave Chappelle-hosted SNL opened wordlessly on the sight of Kate McKinnon (dressed as Hillary) at the piano, singing her own cover of the late Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” No joke, no bit, and McKinnon finished the performance with a turn to the camera, “I’m not giving up, and neither should you.”
It isn’t the first time SNL has forgone a humorous cold open in the wake of national unrest, and perhaps not unironically calls to mind then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani honoring the victims of 9/11 with Paul Simon performing “The Boxer.”
Either way, McKinnon’s performance was a perfect note of grace in divisive times, and will surely be remembered for years to come.
Check Out 100 TV Facts You May Not Know!