Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler Reunite to Blast James Comeys Plea to Democrats
On Wednesday night, Seth Meyerss Late Night audience got a rare treat: Amy Poehler stopped by as one..
On Wednesday night, Seth Meyerss Late Night audience got a rare treat: Amy Poehler stopped by as one of the comedians guests, allowing the two to resurrect their popular Saturday Night Live segment, “Really?! With Seth and Amy.”
The former “Weekend Update” co-anchors have brought their incredulous bit back twice already on Meyerss current show, and each time their chemistry and timing remain spot-on. In 2015, the two heckled sportswriter Andy Benoit for saying that womens sports werent worth watching, and last year they teamed up again to mock pro-Trump protesters. This time around, the pair united around another worthy cause—specifically, to make sure James Comey never gives unsolicited advice to the Democratic Party again. With Poehlers new show, Making It—a crafting game show co-hosted by Nick Offerman—set to premiere next week on NBC, the timing couldnt be better.
Over the weekend, the former F.B.I. director tweeted a pretty bold plea: “Democrats, please, please dont lose your minds and rush to the socialist left,” he wrote. “This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. Americas great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership.” Given the role Comey played in the 2016 presidential election—specifically, raising doubt about Hillary Clinton as a candidate just before Election Day by announcing in a letter to Congress that he was reopening an investigation into her e-mails—Meyers and Poehler, as well as most liberals on social media, were not exactly eager to heed Comeys advice.
“Really, James Comey? You want to weigh in on things when theres an election coming up? You feel like thats gone well for you in the past?” Meyers said. “Thats like Michael Jordan saying, I think Im gonna take another shot at baseball. I mean, really.”
“Really, James Comey? Youre worried the Democrats are gonna move too far to the left?” Poehler added. “Really? I dont know if you remember, but we were just about to have a nice, boring, moderate Democrat for a president until you decided to open your mouth a week before the election, you big, dumb scarecrow! Really! And as far as Im concerned, the Democrats can vote for a bong in the shape of Che Guevara, and youve got nothing to say about it. Really!”
Although Poehler and Meyers often lampoon both sides of any given debate in their segments, this round was pretty one-sided—perhaps because the “both-sides-are-wrong” approach feels less appropriate in 2018 than it used to be. As Meyers noted, “Youre telling Democrats not to lose their minds?! I dont know if youve noticed, but the party in power is locking babies in cages, the president talks about Vladimir Putin the way Jay-Z talks about Beyoncé, and the White House has more employee turnover than a Dairy Queen in September!”
The bottom line? Poehler put it best: “James, I get it. You feel guilty and you dont want history to remember you as the guy who opened the door for the death of democracy. I dont blame you. Really. But the idea of you playing adviser to the Democratic Party is kind of like the iceberg trying to join the crew of the Titanic.”
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
