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'Saturday Night Live' satirizes sometimes confusing no-mask guidelines

"It's your boy, Fauci, the patron saint of Purell," said Kate McKinnon's Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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"Saturday Night Live" poked fun at new guidelines that say vaccinated people don't need to wear masks.

The show opened with a skit called "A message from Dr. Anthony Fauci," with Kate McKinnon reprising her role as the leader of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"It's your boy, Fauci, the patron saint of Purell," he said.

Image: Kate McKinnon as Anthony Fauci on 'Saturday Night Live'
Kate McKinnon impersonates Dr. Anthony Fauci during the opening of 'Saturday Night Live' on May 15, 2021.NBC

The change by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week confused some Americans, including store owners and public venues that can't always be sure about who's been fully vaccinated.

Fauci introduced a CDC improv troupe that seeks to teach Americans "correct mask behavior."

"Please welcome the CDC Players and their first scene, 'Man walks into a bar,'" Fauci said.

"Welcome to a bar," Aidy Bryant said.

"Thank you," Beck Bennett said. "Do I still have to wear a mask indoors?"

"You actually do not ... as long as you're vaccinated," she said.

"I'm not," he said. "I'm entering a bar at 11 a.m. Did you really think I was vaxxed? Cause that's on you."

Another scenario featured Alex Moffat and Cecily Strong at a large gathering.

"I'm concerned," Moffat said. "This is a pretty large gathering. Should we be wearing masks?"

"We don't have to," Strong replied. "Because we're outside ... the Capitol building."

She displayed a handgun. "Now come on, let's get 'em!"

In a scenario involving "young folks who started dating during the pandemic," in Fauci's words, Chloe Fineman found out what beau Andrew Dismukes really looks like after he took off his mask.

"Oh no," she said. "I don't like the bottom of your face."

"Then what if you put your mask over your eyes," he said.

"That's nice," she said. "You look like a blue man."

The night's host, Keegan-Michael Key, said in his opening monologue, "This has been an incredible week folks. Masks are coming off, life is getting back to normal, and I am hosting 'SNL.'"

Image: Keegan-Michael Key hosts 'Saturday Night Live'
Keegan-Michael Key hosts 'Saturday Night Live' on May 15, 2021.NBC

News segment "Weekend Update" also had fun with the new mask guidance. Co-host Colin Jost said it's OK for vaccinated Americans to eschew mask-wearing, "Except if you go most places."

"Anyway," he said, "have fun out there."

McKinnon portrayed special guest Liz Cheney, a Republican U.S. senator from Wyoming, who was ousted from her Senate leadership position this week after repeatedly saying there was no widespread voter fraud in the presidential election.

"I was kicked out of the Republican Party," she said. "I fell down to hell like Lil Nas X."

She appealed to the audience by reiterating her GOP credentials.

"I am everything a conservative woman is supposed to be," she said. "Blonde. Mean."

The news segment also sent up controversial horse trainer Bob Baffert, whose Medina Spirit tested positive on a post-race drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby.

"Do I look like a shady character to you?" a sunglasses-and-suit-wearing Baffert, played by Bennett, said.

He showed photos of Medina Spirit doing what he said were normal things, like hanging out at a Mexican pharmacy while on vacation.

"So now a horse can’t party?" Baffert said.

Asked why the colt didn't win Saturday's Preakness, he said, "He's nothing without his 'roids."