SNL sparks outrage with sneering take on anti-Semitism hearings that makes GOP Rep. Stefanik the butt of the joke – hours after UPenn President Liz Magill resigned in disgrace

Viewers were upset after SNL’s cold open Saturday night, which mocked last week’s congressional hearings on college anti-Semitism.

The initial sketch attempted to downplay the university presidents’ lack of testimony, but its efforts elicited few laughs.

Then the online backlash began, with viewers criticizing the sketch for attempting to undermine the severity of anti-Semitism on American college campuses in the weeks following the October 7 terrorist attack.

The prewritten sketch was also released just hours after University of Pennsylvania President Amy Magill, whose testimony before the House panel seemed especially smug, resigned in disgrace after a dismal performance over the past eight weeks.

SNL newcomer Chloe Troast played Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus and a loyal supporter of former President Trump.

In a moment intended to ridicule Stefanik’s listening performance, which has generally been widely praised, he said, “I’m going to start shouting questions at these women like Billy Eichner.”

‘Anti-Semitism: yes or no?’ she yelled at the three women playing the university presidents.

‘Yes or no! Is calling for the genocide of the Jews against Harvard’s code of conduct?

The actress who plays Harvard University’s Claudine Gay responded, “Well, it depends on the context.”

‘That? That can’t be your answer,” Troast’s Stefanik replied, echoing the shocking real-world interaction between the pair.

‘Madam from Pennsylvania, same question, yes or no?’ he asked the actress who played Magill.

“If you don’t say yes, you’re going to make me look good, which is very, very hard to do,” she continued. ‘So I’ll ask you directly. Do you think genocide is bad?

iHeart Radio host Mark Simone wrote on in the objective of the sketch”. .’

‘They (SNL), interestingly enough, tried to brand Elise Stefanik (who by all accounts won the day) as strident. “I guess I had a misunderstanding that calling a woman ‘shrill’ was sexist,” another user wrote.

A third disgruntled user wrote: ‘Congratulations to SNL everyone. Since they haven’t been funny for years, they’ve now simply transcended comedy and become one big joke. I’m not sure what’s more pathetic, this lazy attempt at comedy or mocking those who oppose anti-Semitism at a time like this. Filth.’

While the sketch was flopping both live and in front of online crowds, the real Stefanik was sending out a scathing indictment against Magill and the other university presidents following news of Penn’s president’s resignation.

‘One down. Two to go,” she wrote.

SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels is Jewish and was born on a kibbutz in what was then British Mandate Palestine, before moving with his parents to Toronto.

Magill was criticized for her testimony, in which she said that rebuking students calling for Jewish genocide was not paramount, but rather “context” specific.

He was asked a “yes or no” question about whether calls for the genocide of Jews counted as hate speech, and he repeatedly said it depended on the context.

On Wednesday he attempted to clarify his comments, but the damage had already been done: A wealthy alumnus withdrew a $100 million donation and his comments were roundly condemned by the ADL, the White House and politicians across the board.

Magill issued a humiliating video statement in which he attempted to explain his failure to condemn calls for the genocide of the Jewish people on universities.

She said she was not “focused” on the issue and said she wanted to “make it clear” that calls for genocide were “wrong, plain and simple” – although she said the blame lay with her university’s policies and the constitution, more that in with her.

Magill said: ‘There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on anti-Semitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of the Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies.

‘At that time, I focused on our university’s long-standing policies, aligned with the United States Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable.

‘I did not focus, but should have, on the irrefutable fact that a call for the genocide of the Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence that human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil, plain and simple.

Magill said he hoped to draw a line in the sand and clarify his position.

“I want to be clear: a call for the genocide of the Jewish people is deeply threatening,” he said.

‘Their intention is to intentionally terrorize a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries, and who were victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust.

“In my opinion, it would be harassment or intimidation.”

But, Magill said, it was not officially classified as harassment, a policy she said was outdated and in need of revision.

Magill pledged to work to update existing rules.

“For decades under multiple Penn presidents and consistent with most universities, Penn’s policies have been guided by the Constitution and the law,” he said.

‘In today’s world, where we see signs of hate proliferating on our campus and in our world in ways that have not been seen in years, these policies must be clarified and evaluated.

“Penn must begin a serious and careful look at our policies.”

She concluded that she was “committed to a safe and supportive environment so that all members of our community can thrive.” We can do it well and we will.”

On Thursday, as the House Education Committee said it was investigating the matter further, the board of trustees of Wharton – the world’s first business school, founded in 1881 at the University of Pennsylvania – said Magill needed resign.

In a letter to her, they said the university’s leadership needed to change “with immediate effect.”