'SNL' Strauss-Kahn Cold Open Shows IMF Chief's First Night At Rikers Island (VIDEO)

There's nothing us regular folk love more than seeing a ridiculously wealthy guy who thinks the rules don't apply to him have a bad time. So for the cold open of its season finale, 'SNL' took aim at Dominque Strauss-Kahn, the disgraced IMF chief who was until Friday being held without bail at Rikers Island.

Of course, since Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempted rape, it doesn't take too many guesses to figure out where this sketch is going to end up. But first, how about a carefully nuanced discussion of the tenuous nature of the European economy? You catch more flies with honey, after all.

WATCH:

Comments

[andre2112]

01:35 AM on 05/26/2011

I know..all's fair in comedy and all that. Still -- I was a bit uncomfortable as a black male that the premise here was basically " Hahahahaa!! How RIDICULOUS!! Two black guys... discoursing in great detail about complex European economic issues ! What a riot !!" . So -- a lot of the basic joke was "Gee you'd never see THIS happen". It all would have been a little funnier -- as others have said here -- if EITHER of these guys showed up in a couple other skits that night!! Yeah -- really sad SNL, and agreed on the Maya discussion. Real bummer that Justin --as cool as he is -- was the main representative of great black culture on this episode , with his SOUL/FUNK opening song and his HIP HOP clip with the great Andy Samberg.

[ZenCrusader]

04:03 PM on 05/24/2011

hey HuffPo = how about a banner on your front page advising people that content may not be available if you are outside the USA. get global and show some respect to your viewers.

[Yolande Long]

02:02 PM on 05/23/2011

Loved this and yes, it's still on the air because it lends itself to political satire like no other show can. It helps if your intelligence level is that above a slug.

[Emilio Lizardo]

01:40 PM on 05/23/2011

Prison rape is pretty funny for guys but the girls sprout crocodile tears and feminist outrage.

It's only sex.

[thisisntme]

12:30 PM on 05/23/2011

I have a feeling this was going a bit over the audiences head, but when Kenan and Jay did the rape joke, they all fell in line. Was funny though.

[NatTurner1]

11:29 AM on 05/23/2011

I chuckled a little, but wish skits on rape and cancer could be forever excluded on TV. I saw this and couldnt help but think of the victim.

[thisisntme]

12:22 PM on 05/23/2011

I understand your concern, but what is comedy without risks?

[topkatnc]

12:34 PM on 05/24/2011

I agree .. not even a little bit funny .

[AppleBaby]

08:49 AM on 05/23/2011

hilarious! loved it.

[thrillsnswills]

08:39 AM on 05/23/2011

Pharoah's cue card reading was a bit too obvious but it's not like he was saying typical comedic lines! He was explaining complicated economic theories that most of the commenters on this thread probably never even heard of.

I think it was great...except I was sad to see that Kenyan hasn't been fired yet and he's in ANOTHER prison skit. http://crassecards.com

[thisisntme]

12:23 PM on 05/23/2011

Hey, I like Kenan. I've enjoyed him ever since All That!

[edejan]

01:05 PM on 05/23/2011

Keenan, Not Kenyan, is one of the funniest on the show. He doesn't need to "be fired."

[cameron d]

02:16 AM on 05/23/2011

Jay Pharoah really isn't that good outside of impressions on Weekend Update. How many times did you notice him visablly searching for cue cards? Really bad. Still, it's a funny bit and it was a very good show overall.

[thisisntme]

12:24 PM on 05/23/2011

What SNL performer doesn't stare at the cue cards? They've always done that.

[Tommygun265]

02:08 AM on 05/23/2011

Strauss-Kahn can't believe he got arrested for raping that African maid. After all, the IMF has been raping Africans for decades and no one has raised a fuss until now.

[cameron d]

02:10 AM on 05/23/2011

The Daily Show made that joke this week too. The IMF literally raping an african. How about that?

[Keith King]

11:32 PM on 05/22/2011

Monty Python did this type of sketch in the 60's. And the British troupe was much funnier.

[jokamachi]

12:19 AM on 05/23/2011

Whatever, Captain Buzzkill. I found it hilarious. And Python wasn't always that hilarious.

[kapalabhati]

06:23 AM on 05/23/2011

But dissing SNL and praising MP confirms Captain Buzzkill's intellectual superiority. He's SO above this pedestrian American attempt at "humour."

[InedaName]

09:22 PM on 05/22/2011

I dare them to show this sketch on Squawk Box tomorrow morning.

[jcarterla]

09:19 PM on 05/22/2011

I think that Lorne needs to let somebody else do the hiring for next season. Of all the new people he hired for this season, only Vanessa was able to make her presence known. The funny thing was that she was completely absent last night. Jay Pharoah does impressions of other people. That can only get you so far. His attempt at doing something else in this skit turned out really bad. The other two guys, I can't even remember their names. Keep Vanessa. Dump the rest. Hire some people that can be funny live and also are excellent writers.

[cameron d]

02:14 AM on 05/23/2011

Watching Jay Pharoah search for the cue cards in this sketch was pretty distracting. But that's what happens when you let youtube clips be the driving force behind you hiring a person. Vanessa Bayer's Miley Cyrus impression was the best contribution by any of the new cast members this season. (With the possible exception of the French dance show bits.)

[thisisntme]

12:31 PM on 05/23/2011

Everybody looks for cue cards. This is nothing new.

[iRock]

08:54 PM on 05/22/2011

it was funny though.

BUT I WANT MY BLACK WOMAN!!!!

[iRock]

08:51 PM on 05/22/2011

Oh great.

SNL has a scene with all the black cast members!! (oh wait, it's the one about jail, nevermind)

Lorn Sucks, like i thought.

Still waiting for that black female cast member Lorne. It's been, what...20 years??? (Rudolph rocked, but half of her protrayals were of white women!)

He could be doing a ton of skits with Michelle Obama but...

[InedaName]

09:24 PM on 05/22/2011

I think you're going to be waiting for a while.

[iRock]

10:03 PM on 05/22/2011

Isn't that a shame???

[greenygenie]

01:52 AM on 05/23/2011

I guess Maya Rudolph doesn't count?

[SoapboxMcGee]

02:17 AM on 05/23/2011

He mentioned Rudolph.