When President Barack Obama comes calling, most people answer -- but not Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.
The comedy duo, who star in the Comedy Central show "Key & Peele," opened up to Entertainment Weekly about a time when they had to turn down a big request from the president:
The story goes like this: Obama had been looking to work with the duo to make a comedy short designed to promote the Affordable Care Act. (Yes, the same assignment that eventually led to a memorable Between Two Ferns episode.) But: “We had to turn him down,” Peele says. “We were making the season.”
“We literally couldn’t fit it in to our schedules,” Key adds with regret.
“So we actually had to relieve the president of his duties,” Peele adds. “We couldn’t help him out on that one particular time. But this is a country where we technically have status over our elected officials. So you gotta remember, Obama works for us.”
A recurring sketch on "Key & Peele" shows Peele as Obama with Key playing his anger translator, Luther. (Watch a clip of an Obama & Luther sketch from after the 2012 presidential election above.)
As EW noted, Obama did go on to talk about Obamacare in an episode of "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifianakis, a move that proved to be successful in getting younger Americans to visit healthcare.gov.
But the "Between Two Ferns" episode upset some older Americans and Republicans, who thought it was a waste of time. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly also criticized the president for the move.
Read more on Key & Peele in EW.
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