‘SNL’: Jim Carrey Will No Longer Portray Joe Biden

Jim Carrey is finished playing President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. The comedian reportedly asked for the role ahead of the 2020 presidential election cycle, but on Saturday, he announced on Twitter that he is setting it aside. There is no word on who will replace Carrey as the new parody of the President-elect

Carrey tweeted that his “term was only meant to be 6 weeks” as Biden on SNL. He went on: “I was thrilled to be elected as your SNL President… comedy’s highest call of duty. I would love to go forward knowing that Biden was the victor because I nailed that s—. But I am just one in a long line of proud, fighting SNL Bidens!” Carrey’s tweet took many fans by surprise, and they mourned the loss of his Biden impression in the weeks and months to come.

“Well. God help us all if Alec had a role for the next 4,” one fan responded. Another added: “Between your line about Karma and science, and busting out la-hoo-sa-her you brought a lot of joy to this anti-Trump household my friend!” While a third wrote: “Kudos for doing a stint and then bowing out gracefully – have a great Christmas.”

Without Carrey, the role of Biden will almost certainly be filled sometime soon as SNL continues to make a political commentary in sketch form, but the show has not yet named a successor. Many commenters hoped it would be a cast member rather than a celebrity guest this time around. Over the last four years, SNL has leaned heavily on A-list guests to satirize U.S. politics in opening skits.

Carrey was actually the fifth iteration of Joe Biden on SNL. The first was all the way back in 1991, during a skit about the Senate’s confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas. There, he was played by cast member Kevin Nealon. The second was Jason Sudeikis, who was a cast member during Biden’s time as vice president. He played a barking, boisterous Biden with a massive ego.

In 2019, Woody Harrelson took over during the primary campaign to play a brain-fogged Biden with plenty of jokes about his age. John Mulaney even played Biden once while he was hosting last season. After that, Carrey actually reached out to SNL with “interest” in the part, according to a report by Vulture.

The official SNL Twitter account responded warmly to Carrey’s announcement on Saturday but did not indicate who the new Biden impersonator might be, nor when they would be announced. That either means that there will be no Biden in this weekend’s new episode, or viewers are in for a big live surprise. Saturday’s new episode features host Kristen Wiig and musical guest Dua Lipa, live at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.