The level of LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese’s fame has gone all the way to “Saturday Night Live.”
Not quite one week after Reese and the Tigers won the NCAA Championship title with a 102-85 victory over Iowa last Sunday, the Bayou Barbie (or at least, a likeness of her) popped up next to anchor Michael Che on SNL’s Weekend Update desk.
Pointing to her ring finger and wearing an LSU jersey, SNL cast member Punkie Johnson, who is from New Orleans, played the part of Reese.
“Yea, I got people big mad,” Johnson said after Che commented on her having had a big week. “First, they were mad ’cause I was taunting … Then, they were mad because I didn’t want to go to the White House,” Johnson added.
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The comedian was referencing Reese’s propensity for stirring up strong reactions, most recently with her gestures toward Iowa star and player of the year Caitlin Clark during the national championship game and then by calling the First Lady’s suggestion of having the Hawkeyes celebrated at the White House “a joke.”
The comedic segment then ventured into NIL territory with Johnson pitching catchphrases for items like garden gnomes and eyelashes before celebrating the success of the tournament. Reese holds more NIL deals than any college basketball player, man or woman. And Sunday’s NCAA Championship game drew 9.9 million TV viewers to become the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record.
There was, indeed, plenty of positive chatter on the heels of LSU’s first national title in program history coming in Kim Mulkey’s second year as Tigers’ coach. There also was an avalanche of critical commentary related to Reese.
Through being her authentic and unapologetic self, in her own words, Reese has come to signify cultural, social and even economic issues still being grappled with by people in this country. She’s a lightning rod, and her level of national relevance has surged all the way to one of the longest-running shows in American television history.
