Saturday Night Live drew criticism from fans when the comedy series reposted Nate Bargatze’s 2023 George Washington skit on July 4th. The cast and crew of the series are on a hiatus until the show reruns for Season 52 in the fall.
In the SNL sketch known as “Washington’s Dream”, Bargatze plays George Washington, who delivers a monologue to his troops about his “dream” for America before crossing the Delaware River.
Although the 47-year-old comedian does not identify as a MAGA supporter, he faced backlash recently after being photographed alongside President Donald Trump and other Republican figures at a White House UFC event, celebrating Trump’s 80th birthday. The SNL backlash stems from the same.
A user on X wrote:
“Just stop it with MAGAtze.”
Nate Bargatze has long maintained a clean and apolitical image. His representative stated that he attended as a longtime UFC fan and to promote his movie The Breadwinner, emphasizing that he is “not political.”
Continue reading for more details.
Netizens slam SNL for promoting Nate Bargatze George Washington skit
In the famous Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch from 2023, Nate Bargatze plays George Washington at a Revolutionary War Camp. But instead of discussing military strategy he speaks of bizarre dreams for America’s future, such as inventing the non-metric system of weights and measures.
Bargatze says in the sketch:
“A real American would never want to know what’s in a hot dog, just as they will never know why our money is called the ‘dollar’…”
The sketch, starring Bargatze, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson and Kenan Thompson, was praised for its deadpan delivery. It was written by SNL co-head writer Streeter Seidell and Mikey Day, with assistance from writer Auguste White.
It was reportedly a huge success as Bargatze reprised his role for Washington’s Dream 2. It generated millions of views. However, it received backlash following Nate Bargatze’s recent controversy when he attended the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Bargatze was spotted in photos standing near Trump and posing alongside figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
When SNL recirculated Nate Bargatze’s George Washington skit around July 4, some netizens slammed the show due to the spillover from his recent controversy.
A user said:
“It was good and I think SNL s**ks now, but once in awhile there is a nugget. I’m sorry, but the Beavis and Butthead one had me rolling.”
Another chimed in:
“Not their best work.”
A Reddit user said:
“Totally different vibe to the sketch after learning that he’s maga. Ugh.”
A person added:
“Hey it’s that guy that cosplays as an Everyman but supports oligarchs and diddlers. SNL is just another part of the circus, eat your bread while Domingo goes to the billionaires wedding.”
However, some users praised the sketch calling it one of SNL‘s best works to date.
A person said:
“One of the best ever. And I go all the way back to season 1!”
Someone else commented:
“One of the top 5 SNL skits of all time.”
A netizen wrote:
“This is absolutely hilarious. I can remember when SNL was like this all of the time. Thats many many moons ago obviously.”
A report in Vulture stated that Nate Bargatze advocated strongly to save the original “Washington’s Dream” sketch during his first SNL hosting gig. It was in the “maybe” column and was in danger of being cut from its debut.
Bargatze pushed hard for Lorne Michaels to keep it and it was eventually killed at the dress rehearsals. It was then moved up to broadcast and became one of the most viral and beloved SNL sketches.
Edited by Aastha Dass