Stacey McGunnigle parodying White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in an episode of This Hour has 22 Minutes.Supplied
Canadian comedian Stacey McGunnigle’s withering take on Donald Trump’s antagonistic press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has become the breakout political impression of the current season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Now in her fifth year on CBC’s long-running comedy show, McGunnigle first berated the beleaguered White House press corps in character as Leavitt in a December sketch that racked up 4.9 million views on Instagram alone, opening a news conference with: “Okay, you frigging vultures …”
Her latest appearance as Leavitt, which aired Tuesday night, sees the newly pregnant press secretary use a baby bump to dodge hard questions.
“Firstly, I’m fine – thank you for not asking,” she responds to one reporter’s inquiry about Venezuela. “I’m just the first woman to do this job while pregnant and evil.”
As The Globe and Mail spoke to McGunnigle over the phone in Halifax on Thursday morning, the sketch had amassed more than a million views each on Instagram and TikTok.
Your first Karoline Leavitt sketch got close to five million views on Instagram. Do the writers take that into account and say, “Okay, we should go back to that well again” because it did so well?
She is a main player in the administration that is clogging our news feeds. You know, that Vanity Fair article came out later in December and I think we were all like taken by those images. They just really showed those characters in such like a raw and visceral way. And then immediately, Leavitt announces her pregnancy – and we were like, “That is hysterical.”
How did you find your version of this press secretary?
The thing that is connecting to me – and connecting to the lovely people who are very kind in the comments and liking and engaging with the content – is that there’s just so much gaslighting and just absolute lying. There is something really powerful in playing a character who is just never going to admit defeat. That was my angle: I’m going into war, and really loud.
What can you tell me about becoming Leavitt?
It starts with the writing. This is the second sketch that Allana Reoch wrote that we collaborated on. We worked together at Second City Toronto. We have a rapport and know the shots we want to take. I love nothing more than having the opportunity, like the men, to play these unlikeable characters – these like evil, selfish, narcissistic characters. Being a woman should not exclude from the depravity.
Canadian politics continues to be dominated by men – so 22 Minutes ended up in that situation where, for example, Chris Wilson played both Pierre Poilievre and Justin Trudeau; he gets a lot of opportunities. But the Trump administration has a lot of horrible-seeming women in it.
Evil, horrible evil women, yes. I definitely was like, this is an amazing opportunity, so we’ve got to go guns blazing.
McGunnigle in a viral Karoline Leavitt pregnancy sketch.Supplied
What can you tell me about Leavitt’s costuming, hair, makeup …
We wanted that look; the Karoline Leavitt look is almost like a Halloween costume, quite honestly. The blond hair, the big lips, severe caked-on makeup. The MAGA women like just have such a look to them. The second I’m done, I’m like, “I have to wash my face.” There’s so much on me, it’s like you’re literally preparing for battle. That’s what it feels like.
So your wig is like a helmet.
It’s so crazy: You put on a blond wig and everyone’s like, “Oh my God, you’re blond.” Like there is a power in a very mean blond woman, the vibe changes. I take the wig off and I’m back to a redhead and everyone’s like, “Oh, she must have a great personality.”
Is there anything you do in terms of your voice?
For me, when I attack any sort of comedy, it’s all about the music. Everybody has a musicality to them. When you watch clips of Karoline, she is so defensive immediately. Literally, anything you say is wrong.
One of the YouTube comments suggests you’re so good at playing Leavitt that you should go in during her maternity leave. Is that a job you’d consider?
I’d be more cut out if Andy Cohen wants to go on vacation. I would love to do some Watch What Happens Live, talk to my Real Housewives of Potomac girls. But, yeah, no podium for me.
In addition to the 22 Minutes social accounts, there’s now a whole constellation of anti-Trump American YouTubers who take parts and, in some cases, entire sketches from the show and then sort of like repackage it with political commentary. I saw one today with close to half a million views titled “Canada TAKES DOWN White House Barbie in EPIC ROAST.”
I haven’t seen that one. You’ll have to send it to me. I’m so excited by the life that 22 Minutes has on the internet because it is international. When you’re looking in this case at Karoline Leavitt, at over four million views, that’s not all Canadians. There’s a lot of Americans engaging with us and appreciative that we’re able to say something.
It’s very fulfilling to just like say the thing that’s happening – because I feel like, in our current political climate, we’re not saying what’s happening in front of our faces.
One prominent female Canadian politician has been Chrystia Freeland, whom you play. It felt like her retirement sketch this week where she goes off with Volodymyr Zelensky. Is that how you viewed it?
No, never. Every week, like, we are writing and adapting to what’s going on in the world. Chris had a fond farewell with Trudeau – and we still see him, on a yacht with Katy Perry. So there’s always life. As Chrystia, I’ve said goodbye many times. And then I’m like, “I’m back.” So I hope not. She’s so fun to play. I think she’s got more in the tank. I can’t say goodbye to that wig.
This interview has been condensed and edited.