They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and if that's true, Saturday Night Live is flattering to very many celebrities. While some think that celebrities subject themselves to this kind of roasting because of their choice to live in the public sphere, they're still people, and the wrong joke at their expense could make even the strongest celeb crumble a bit inside.
Luckily, there are plenty of celebs with great senses of humor, so that when the cast of Saturday Night Live delivers a perfect impression of them, they're right there laughing along with everybody else, enjoying the playful jabs and spot-on mannerisms. Many of these celebs even admit to eagerly awaiting the next installment of their own impression, and many have sought out the actors to continue their impressions in other mediums and take part in other performances or adjacent opportunities. You'll see what we mean - here are 10 celebs who got a huge kick out of the way Saturday Night Live portrayed them.
10 Miley Cyrus
If you've seen Vanessa Bayer's Miley Cyrus impression, you know it's pretty spot on. Miley Cyrus weighed in on it, and was good-natured. She even let Vanessa Bayer give her tips on how to better play herself! "She's always been so great about it," Bayer said of Cyrus. Once Miley Cyrus even appearred in the recurring sketch (called "The Miley Cyrus Show") and she played Justin Bieber alongside Vanessa Bayer playing her!
9 Oprah Winfrey
The beloved talk show host Oprah Winfrey was very complimentary of Maya Rudolph's now-famous impression of her. Maya Rudolph spoofs "Oprah's Favorite Things," a segment on Oprah's show. Oprah even invited the SNL star to be on an episode of her show called "The Funniest People In America." According to Maya Rudolph, Oprah was laughing along and was even happy to be impersonated by a woman, rather than by Tim Meadows, as she previously had been.
8 Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek was notoriously easy-going and had only praise for the recurring Jeopardy sketch on Saturday Night Live, in which Will Ferrell played him. "I loved them," he said. He even recognized it as a compliment: "It means you’ve arrived. If you do a take-off of somebody, it is a sign that you believe your audience will immediately recognize who you’re poking fun at."
7 Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart was asked during a Reddit AMA who did her favorite impression of her, after many imitations across different shows were done. She was unequivocal in her answer: Ana Gasteyer on Saturday Night Live. Ana Gasteyer reprised the role again and again and famously did a segment as Martha Stewart called "Topless Christmas Special," proving Martha Stewart is definitely down to clown and doesn't take herself too seriously.
6 Steve Harvey
Kenan Thompson has been playing Steve Harvey for so long, he might be a better Steve Harvey than Steve Harvey. He laughs along good-naturedly, ribbing Kenan Thompson right back. He told Extra: "We all know that Kenan's career is alive and well because of me. I want to kick his ass... but it's pretty funny though."
5 Bernie Sanders
Larry David hit his Bernie Sanders impression out of the park, and fans waited with bated breath to see what the senator thought of the portrayal. He was honored, even joking that they should use Larry David at the next rally. "He does better than I do," he said. Fans will remember that the two even discovered they shared a distant cousin while they were filming a show for PBS!
4 Dr. Fauci
Dr. Fauci has been through a lot this past year and a half, but he was still able to enjoy a laugh at his own expense when Brad Pitt portrayed him on SNL. Dr. Fauci told Telemundo, "I think he showed that he is really a classy guy." He added that Brad Pitt took the character off for a moment at the end of the sketch to give a sincere thank you to the NIAID director for all his work during the pandemic. He went on to joke about how flattering it is that it was Brad Pitt who played him.
3 Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston has been impersonated many times over the years on SNL, and it turns out she's just fine with that. "I thought it was very funny," she said. "I remember watching and going, 'Is that what I do? Do I do that?' It was hysterical."
2 James Lipton
James Lipton wrote in his memoir that one of the "most naive questions" he is ever asked is, "Did Will Ferrell's imitation bother you?'" "Upset me!" he wrote. "No one waited more eagerly for the next installment—and the day Will left Saturday Night Live, which is to say the day I left Saturday Night Live, was a very dark day for me."
1 Ellen DeGeneres
Kate McKinnon has impersonated the comedian and talk show host more times than she can count and unsurprisingly, funny lady Ellen DeGeneres was applauding her every time. She even invited the SNL star to impersonate her on an episode of her talk show, where the two donned matching outfits and did a monologue together. Of the impersonation, Ellen told the audience, "I didn't like it. I’m just kidding — I’m Ellen!"
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