'SNL' roasts Kyrsten Sinema: 'Pay attention to me'

“Saturday Night Live” didn’t make a lot of jokes about Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, but one was pretty funny.

Sinema announced Friday that she is leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an Independent. It was a development too big for "SNL" to ignore, but the timing left the show only a day to come up with something on Sinema, who the show has parodied more than once.

Not to worry.

Colin Jost, co-host of “Weekend Update,” led off the segment talking about how it had been a pretty good week for President Joe Biden, including bringing back Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner home in a prisoner swap.

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Jost's joke about Sinema leaving the Democratic party had a ring of truth

“But then, just when he had it all under control,” Jost said, “Kyrsten Sinema said, ‘Hold my wig.’” This was accompanied by a photo of Sinema in a bright pink wig, naturally. Jost then noted that Sinema was leaving the Democratic Party.

“Explained Sinema, ‘Pay attention to me.’”

That’s it. That’s the joke.

And it’s a pretty good one. Sinema wrote in an op-ed published in The Republic Friday, and then repeated in any number of interviews, that she was leaving the Democratic Party because Arizonans are tired of partisan politics, and “I have never fit perfectly in either national party.”

Pundits, meanwhile, pointed to her high negative ratings and surmised that Sinema thought she couldn’t survive a Democratic primary in 2024, when she is up for reelection.

But others echoed Jost.

And it must be said, Sinema has never exactly shied away from the spotlight.

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Saturday’s show was hosted by Steve Martin and Martin Short; Brandi Carlile was the musical guest.

The Sinema joke wasn’t the first Arizona-related bit this season. Twice so far Cecily Strong has done a brutally accurate impersonation of Kari Lake, who lost the race for governor in Arizona — accurate right down to the soft-focus filter Lake uses during video interviews.

Lake filed suit Friday asking courts to set aside her loss and declare her the winner.

As it happens, a post-election bit on Nov. 12 included Strong’s Lake making a threat that if uncounted votes didn’t go her way, “I’ll burn Arizona to the ground.”

Like the Sinema joke, there’s a little too much truth in there for comfort.

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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kyrsten Sinema once again fodder for 'Saturday Night Live'