Maya Rudolph might need to put her phone on “do not disturb” mode until the 2024 presidential election is over.
In late July, it was announced that the actress and comedian—who was originally a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007—would reprise her role as Kamala Harris, now the Dems’ presumptive presidential nominee, for SNL Season 50.
In a new interview with Variety, Rudolph revealed that her phone immediately “blew up” when the news broke that President Biden was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket. Naturally, it didn’t take long for Rudolph’s name to start trending on X/Twitter as fans expressed their desire to see the Loot star reprise her SNL role.
“It was wild,” she told Variety. “On top of the excitement I felt, I received so many GIFs that had me laughing: LeBron [James] waiting to get in the game, Roman Roy watching his emails pour in… my phone hasn’t stopped blowing up.”
Rudolph first played Harris in 2019 during the current vice president’s first presidential run, and regularly appeared as her through the 2020 election; her most recent cameo was in 2021. Rudolph even won an Emmy in 2020 for her performance as Harris, nabbing the Outstanding Guest Actress In a Comedy Series award.
Rudolph is currently nominated for four different Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category for hosting SNL earlier this year and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the Apple TV+ comedy Loot; she will compete against former SNL castmate and close friend Kristen Wiig for both categories. Rudolph is also up for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics for her Mother’s Day song on SNL and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her role as Connie the Hormone Monstress on Big Mouth.
“I love to do all kinds of projects—and I hope that never ends—but I think my heart lies in being a live performer, and it’s where I’m my strongest,” Rudolph told Variety. “That’s why I go back to SNL so much. It’s just what I love and where my heart soars.”
Harris has spoken positively about Rudolph’s SNL impression of her. In a 2019 appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the then-senator told Meyers, “I fully intend to make sure [Rudolph] has a good eight years of work on SNL.”
SNL Season 50 kicks off September 28 on NBC.
