‘SNL’: ‘Weekend Update’ Mocks MyPillow Exec Mike Lindell With Seering Impression

Saturday Night Live star Beck Bennett played MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in the latest “Weekend Update” segment. Lindell has been a surprisingly prominent persona in U.S. politics recently thanks to his unlikely friendship with former President Donald Trump. Bennett pulled no punches when mocking Lindell’s ideas and his history of addiction.

Lindell joined the ranks of other Trump supporters and far-right pundits to be banned from Twitter this week after spreading conspiracy theories that the company fears could incite violence. Bennett played a version of the businessman joining the news program to explain himself, and he did not get very far. He raved about the 2020 presidential election, claiming that everyone from foreign governments to American celebrities were in on a sinister plot to dethrone Trump.

Along the way came plenty of jokes about Lindell’s real-life struggles with drug addiction. Lindell used crack cocaine for years, to the detriment of his marriage, his business and all aspects of his life, according to his memoir What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO. Lindell credited his sobriety to prayer and his conversion to Evangelical Christianity.

Lindell claimed to have become sober in 2009, though the SNL sketch pointedly questions that timeline. Beyond that, however, many of the statements the parody version of Lindell makes were quite similar to the rhetoric of the real-life Lindell, who has been a prominent mouthpiece for unfounded political conspiracy theories.

The sketch also mentions a suspicious meeting Lindell had with Trump on Jan. 15, shortly before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. At the time, Lindell visited the White House, and Washington Post reporters photographed him and got a glimpse of the documents in his hand. They appeared to refer to martial law and the Insurrection Act, implying that this private citizen with no public office was advising the president to take violent action against the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election.

Lindell was among those Trump supporters that endorsed any and all means to overturn the results of the election and keep Trump in office. However, his accusations and theories on this subject were not based on any real facts or evidence. Beyond that, many critics questioned why the CEO of a pillow company had such close access to then-President Trump. Apparently, SNL writers felt much the same way.

SNL kicked off 2021 with a politically-charged episode, and the trend is likely to continue. Another new episode airs on Saturday, Feb. 6 ay 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.