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How Savannah Guthrie Helped Perfect Kate McKinnon's Saturday Night Live Sketch

Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie wanted to make sure one of Kate McKinnon’s Saturday Night Live sketches was spot-on. Keep scrolling to find out how she did it.

By Mike Vulpo Oct 19, 2020 6:53 PMTags
Watch: Kate McKinnon on What Makes "Saturday Night Live" Work

Savannah Guthrie is the MVP of Saturday night!

On the Oct. 17 episode of Saturday Night Live, fans witnessed a sketch titled "Dueling Town Halls Cold Open." In the segment, NBC put their unique twist on the recent town halls starring President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Many viewers were quick to applaud Kate McKinnon's impersonation of Guthrie, who interviewed Trump during the hour-long event. As it turns out, E! News has learned exclusive details into how the Today show co-host made McKinnon's sketch even more accurate.

"Typically, they'd have to find or make the suit that Savannah wore," a source exclusively shared with E! News. "They reached out to Savannah asking where it was from and she told them they could borrow it. Savannah lent her actual suit so that's what Kate wore in the skit."

"They are the exact same size!" the insider added. "Savannah sent over her suit by Friday night and the SNL team worked on the skit earlier that evening. They wanted to make sure to get it right and even copied Savannah's look down to her manicure."

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On the Oct. 19 episode of Today, Savannah's co-hosts reacted to the sketch that has been viewed more than 5.8 million times in less than two days on YouTube.

Will Heath/NBC, Evan Vucci/AP/Shutterstock

Carson Daly said, "I mean, Kate McKinnon. That was hilarious! Spot on." Hoda Kotb added, "Down to the fingernails and pink suit. I think she nailed it…she was great. I thought she was great."

And if you're curious to know what Guthrie thought, you will have to wait a little longer. She had the day off on Monday.

Guthrie isn't the first star to get impersonated by McKinnon. During her time on Saturday Night Live, the comedian has done her best renditions of Kristen Stewart, Joy Behar and Justin Bieber. She even impersonated Ellen DeGeneres, who was more than impressed.

"She's beautiful. She's charming. She's smart. She's hilarious. She's me is what she is, " DeGeneres joked on her talk show. "She really is hilarious."

Who will McKinnon do next? Stay tuned! Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:35 p.m. EST on NBC.

(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family)

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