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Conservative group Turning Point USA is laughing off a jab from “Saturday Night Live,” calling the late-night satire a sign that the organization has entered mainstream pop culture.
During Saturday’s episode, a sketch mocked a character’s hairstyle by comparing him to a “campus recruiter for Turning Point USA.” The sketch featured members of the show’s cast and guest host Dakota Johnson, who played the main character.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet praised the joke, saying the organization took the shout-out as a compliment to its expanding national reach.
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Dakota Johnson appears during the “Girlfriend Commercial” sketch on “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 3, 2026. (Mikey Gulcicek/NBC via Getty Images)
“We saw the skit. We thought it was actually pretty funny and a testament to how the organization has permeated popular culture,” Kolvet said, adding, “And, for the record, we thought his hair looked great.”
The sketch focused on men wanting a “scary mean girlfriend,” played by Johnson, who degrades them and speaks her mind. “Has this ever happened to you? Your nice, supportive girlfriend won’t give you a straight answer, and you’re left wondering how she really feels? Well, not anymore. Introducing ‘Mean Scary Girlfriend,'” a narrator says in the sketch.
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The skit gained traction online, racking up over 2.1 million views on YouTube and 1.1 million views on X. Other jabs made by the “scary mean girlfriend” besides the Turning Point USA comment included “Oh good, you look like a pedophile on vacation” when one actor came out wearing a patterned shirt.
The TPUSA comment was one of several jokes made at conservatives’ expense during the episode, including a sketch about guns tailored for women, several jokes about Trump Cabinet members during “Weekend Update” and a cold open centered entirely on Republican leaders.
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The Oct. 3 episode opened in the offices of the Republican National Committee, where officials were setting up to record ads ahead of the November midterm elections which they said were looking “bleak.”
Andrew Dismukes and Ashley Padilla portray political aides alongside Mikey Day as Sen. Mitch McConnell and Jeremy Culhane as Vice President JD Vance during the “Midterm Ads Cold Open” on “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 3, 2026. (Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)
The cold open featured an impersonation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, played by cast member Marcello Hernández, offering a message to Latino voters. It then showed a portrayal of Sen. Mitch McConnell, who appeared confused and unable to speak. The real McConnell recently returned to the Senate last month after a lengthy hospital stay from a fall at his home and a battle with pneumonia.
Colin Jost also portrayed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, with the character making the religious quip, “I’m putting God back in war, and it’s working. Our soldiers are praying a lot more than they used to. I’m always hearing them say, ‘Dear God, why?'”
It also featured characterizations of Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump, whom the show has frequently featured in its cold opens since Trump’s return to the White House.
An analysis by the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, provided exclusively to the New York Post, found 91% of “Weekend Update” jokes targeted conservatives last season. Trump was the show’s most frequent target, accounting for more than 100 punchlines.
