Saturday Night Live broke new ground two weeks ago when the iconic show aired its first-ever taped episode produced from the homes of the cast, host and musical guest. It was an impressive, if somewhat gimmicky, feat. Now it’s the new status quo.

Unlike the debut of SNL at Home, this week saw a legitimate cold open sketch, with none other than Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“First, I’d like to thank all the older women in America who have sent me supportive, inspiring, and sometimes graphic emails,” Pitt’s Fauci began. “Now, there’s been a lot of misinformation out there about the virus. And, yes, the president has taken some liberties with our guidelines. So tonight, I would like to explain what the president was trying to say. And, remember, let’s all keep an open mind.” 

Over the next few minutes, the doctor presented clips of Trump lying about the coronavirus and his administration’s response. And unlike the real Fauci, Pitt refuted them unequivocally one by one. 

When Trump said there would be a vaccine “relatively soon,” Fauci said, “Relative to the entire history of Earth, sure, the vaccine’s going to come real fast. But if you were to tell a friend, ‘I’ll be over relatively soon’ and then showed up a year and a half later, well, your friend may be relatively pissed off.” 

When Trump said the virus would “disappear” like a “miracle,” Fauci said, “Who doesn’t love miracles? But miracles shouldn’t be plan A. Even Sully tried to land at the airport first.” 

And then there was Trump’s latest suggestion that UV light inside the body or injecting disinfectant could be an effective cure. All Fauci could do after that was facepalm and say, “I know I shouldn’t be touching my face, but…” 

Until the president ultimately fires him, Fauci promised, “I’m going to be there, putting out the facts for whoever’s listening. And when I hear things like ‘the virus can be cured if everyone takes the Tide pod challenge,’ I’ll be there to say, ‘Please don’t.’”

Taking off his glasses and wig, Pitt dropped the character and said, “To the real Dr. Fauci, thank you for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time. And thank you to the medical workers, first responders, and their families for being on the frontline.” 

“And now, live, kinda, from all across America,” he concluded, “it’s Saturday night.” 

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