Kate McKinnon Mourns Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Who She Iconically Portrayed On ‘SNL’

Kate McKinnon's 'SNL' portrayal of SCOTUS Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the past five years has been hilarity mixed with dire truth. Now the comedian is mourning the loss of the iconic jurist.

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September 19, 2020 8:08PM EDT
Kate McKinnon and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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FILE - In this July 31, 2014, file photo, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her Supreme Court chambers in Washington. In different circumstances, Ginsburg might be on a valedictory tour in her final months on the Supreme Court. But in the era of Donald Trump, the 84-year-old Ginsburg is packing her schedule and sending signals she intends to keep her seat on the bench for years. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reacts to applause as she is introduced by William Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University Law Center, at the Georgetown University Law Center campus in Washington. During a speech in September at Georgetown University’s law school the 84-year-old referred to herself as “Rapid Ruth” and to Justice Sonia Sotomayor as “Swift Sonia.” The Supreme Court on Wednesday handed down its first opinion in a case heard this term. And it was Ginsburg, the court’s oldest justice, who authored the unanimous opinion. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
FILE - In this June 1, 2017, file photo, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joins other justices of the U.S. Supreme Court for an official group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. In different circumstances, Ginsburg might be on a valedictory tour in her final months on the Supreme Court. But in the era of Donald Trump, the 84-year-old Ginsburg is packing her schedule and sending signals she intends to keep her seat on the bench for years. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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Saturday Night Live cast member Kate McKinnon has been portraying Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as one gutsy, tough and funny cookie since 2015. Sadly, a running joke was the lengths that the 87-year-old jurist needed to go to so she could stay alive and healthy enough to make it through Donald Trump‘s presidency. Tragically that didn’t happen, as RBG passed away on Sept. 18, 2020 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. In a heartfelt statement, Kate issued a statement to mourn Ginsburg’s death.

“For so many of us, Justice Ginsburg was a real-life superhero: a beacon of hope, a warrior for justice, a robed crusader who saved the day time and again,” Kate said in a statement to HollywoodLife via a rep for Saturday Night Live. “Playing her on SNL was a profound joy because I could always feel the overwhelming love and gratitude that the audience had for her. It was one of the great honors of my life to meet Justice Ginsburg, to shake her hand, and to thank her for her lifetime of service to this country,” she added.

Kate finally got to meet Ginsburg in person when they happened to both attend an all-Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof at the off-Broadway Stage 42 Theater on Aug. 13, 2019. In photos posted to social media by attendees who witnessed the meeting of the SCOTUS legend and her SNL doppelganger, Kate appeared sweetly shy as she walked over in the audience to greet and shake hands with Ginsburg. The two even posed for a few photos together, and a cast member who saw the interaction called it “epic.”

Kate has portrayed Ruth flawlessly over the years, with such power, grace and humor. The last time the 36-year-old funny lady slipped into her shoes was on Apr. 10, 2020 during an experimental remote episode of Saturday Night Live at Home, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Since she was unable to wear her usual costume of Ruth’s black robe and lace neckpiece, Kate improvised at home with a black sweatshirt that read “Super Diva,” pulled her hair back into Ruth’s bun, and wore her wide rimmed  glasses.

Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon in one of her iconic portrayals of now late SCOTUS Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photo credit: NBC.

Kate’s Ruth was schooling people on how to work out at home during quarantine, delivering such zingers as “Social distancing is important; take it from me, I’ve been social distancing from Justice Alito since 2003. And that’s a Ginsburn.” She also joked about her cat, “That’s my trainer. If I mess up, he eats me.” SNL will return for it’s 46th season on Oct. 3, 2020, live from studio 8H at Rockefeller Center, albeit it is still unclear if there will be a studio audience. Hopefully Kate will be able to give RBG a meaningful sendoff after so many memorable sketches.