Saturday Night Live has long been a stage for political satire, but on October 11, 2025, the show’s cold open took aim at two of the nation’s most prominent conservative officials—Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem—with a sketch that quickly set the internet abuzz. Amy Poehler, returning to host the NBC institution, donned the role of Bondi, while Tina Fey stepped into the shoes of Noem, and their performances sparked swift, and sometimes surprising, reactions from both the lampooned officials and the broader public.
The SNL sketch opened with Poehler’s Bondi facing the Senate Judiciary Committee, a clear nod to Bondi’s recent, much-discussed Senate testimony. In the parody, Poehler’s Bondi is “furious to be here” and, when asked if she will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, she fires back with a deadpan, “No.” The character then proceeds to respond to senators’ questions with a barrage of snarky, roast-style burns. When pressed to spell her name, Poehler’s Bondi quips, “Bondi is spelled with an ‘i’ because ‘I ain’t gonna answer any of your questions.’” And before refusing to address an inquiry, she announces, “Before I don’t answer, I’d like to insult you personally.” According to Entertainment Weekly, these lines were delivered with Poehler’s trademark comedic timing, drawing laughter and applause from the live audience.
The sketch didn’t stop at Bondi’s combative persona. It also poked fun at the ongoing government shutdown and the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tina Fey’s entrance as Noem—complete with an assault rifle, baseball cap, and blinding lip gloss—brought the house down. Fey’s Noem, referencing her “Ice Barbie” nickname, declared, “That’s right, it’s me, Kristi. I spelled my name with an ‘i’ because that’s how I thought it was spelled.” The segment lampooned ICE recruitment, suggesting the agency targets “big, tough” men who “weren’t tough enough for the army or police” and who “take supplements they bought from a gas station.” Poehler and Fey’s comedic chemistry, honed over years as SNL stalwarts, was on full display, and the audience responded with raucous applause.
The sketch also referenced Noem’s controversial memoir, in which she confessed to shooting her puppy, Cricket. When a senator character insisted that Democrats want to end the government shutdown more than Republicans, Fey’s Noem replied, “Ha — that makes me laugh more than the ending to Old Yeller.” Later, she added, “Dogs don’t just get s—t. Heroes s—t them,” a line that drew both laughter and gasps, underscoring the sketch’s willingness to wade into the most contentious elements of its subjects’ public personas.
What happened next was perhaps as newsworthy as the sketch itself. Rather than issuing a scathing rebuke, Attorney General Pam Bondi took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a screenshot of Poehler and Fey in character, captioning it, “@Sec_Noem, should we recreate this picture in Chicago? Loving Amy Poehler!” The post was accompanied by a photo of the SNL stars in full costume, and Bondi’s tone was strikingly upbeat—an unexpected response from a figure often known for her polarizing commentary.
Bondi’s reaction drew a swift and varied response on social media. Some users expressed disbelief that she seemed so pleased about being lampooned on national television. As @briantylercohen pointed out, “They’re laughing at you, not with you.” Others, like @ConservativeRGV, suggested Bondi was masking embarrassment, writing, “Nice try @PamBondi, but we know how embarrassed and ashamed you are that you are a national joke. 😂” Still, a handful of commenters found her good humor refreshing, even if they questioned its sincerity. As @Theindie_bird tweeted, “So funny omg should we recreate this noem hehe,” accompanied by a GIF of a man sobbing behind a smiley face mask.
Critics and supporters alike weighed in on the broader implications. Some argued that Bondi’s response showed a lack of self-awareness about the nature of satire, while others saw it as a clever attempt to lean into the joke and disarm her critics. One user, @Kanieh57, spelled it out: “It’s called satire ‘noun’ – the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like to expose, denounce, or deride the folly or corruptions of the institutions, people or social structures. @AGPamBondi you are being made fun of. And, we are all laughing. 🤣”
The Department of Homeland Security also responded to the sketch, but with a different twist. The official DHS X account posted a clip from Fey’s parody spliced with actual ICE recruiting footage, captioned, “Thanks for the free advertisement.” The choice of background music—a track by hip-hop duo $uicideboy$ known for their support of Palestine—sparked additional commentary online, with some users noting the irony. Kristi Noem herself used the SNL clip to promote ICE recruitment, editing out the jokes and echoing the “free advertisement” sentiment. According to The Daily Dot, this move was seen by some as savvy PR and by others as an attempt to sidestep the satire’s sting.
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin weighed in with a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “SNL is absolutely right — the Democrats’ shutdown does need to end!” In the SNL sketch, Fey’s Noem echoed this sentiment, declaring, “This Democrat government shutdown needs to end now.” The senator character, played by Mikey Day, countered that Democrats were “even more eager” to end the shutdown than Republicans—a line that drew knowing laughter from the audience and highlighted the ongoing partisan finger-pointing in Washington.
Throughout the sketch, Poehler’s Bondi continued to dodge questions with wit and sarcasm, at one point refusing to discuss whether President Donald Trump had directed her to indict former FBI Director James Comey. “I’m not going to discuss my private conversations with the president,” she said. “I’m not telling you who fell asleep in the middle of a sentence, or who kept calling me Ivanka while patting his lap.” These lines, according to Entertainment Weekly, mirrored Bondi’s real-life Senate testimony, during which she was often combative and evasive.
All told, the SNL cold open was a masterclass in political satire—sharp, timely, and unafraid to court controversy. It lampooned its subjects with equal parts humor and bite, and the ensuing reactions from Bondi, Noem, DHS, and the internet at large showed just how deeply satire can cut—and how differently its targets can choose to respond. Whether Bondi’s cheerful embrace of the joke was genuine or strategic, one thing is clear: in today’s media landscape, even the sharpest satire can become a tool for political messaging, self-promotion, or, at the very least, a viral moment.
For viewers and political observers alike, the sketch and its aftermath offered a revealing glimpse into the interplay between comedy, politics, and public perception—a reminder that sometimes, the best way to weather a roast is to laugh along, even if everyone knows who the joke is really on.
