Self care: See Melissa McCarthy sing "I Feel Pretty" as Sean Spicer

You need this, you deserve this

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published May 11, 2017 5:00PM (EDT)

 (NBC)
(NBC)

If you know that President Donald Trump absolutely hates your impression of his press secretary, how would you advertise the fact that you will be reprising that role in a future "Saturday Night Live" skit? With a showstopper from "West Side Story," of course!

In case you're at work and thus unable to witness the magic yourself right now, the commercial opens with McCarthy dancing around a studio (presumably where "Saturday Night Live" is taped) while lip syncing to "I Feel Pretty." The airy lyrics perfectly compliment the scenes of McCarthy's twirling and make-up artists puttering around her, although viewers may have started scratching their heads as to why this decidedly non-comic Broadway staple was being used to advertise a comedy show.

That is, until nearly thirty seconds in, when the make-up gurus move away to reveal McCarthy dressed up as Spicer.

Although McCarthy/Spicer initially greets the audience with her now-famous scowl, her expression quickly softens into one of joy. She then finishes her dance routine in full Spicer regalia.

McCarthy will certainly have her work cut out for her when she impersonates the notoriously tempestuous press secretary on Saturday. Spicer was left with the unenviable position of needing to defend President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey. Among the more humorous aspects of this otherwise troubling incident was Spicer hiding in bushes because he was ill-prepared to answer reporters' questions.

One could be forgiven for speculating that those sanctuary bushes will come up in McCarthy's Spicer parody this week. If they don't, though, this advertisement alone is likely to rankle Trump, who apparently was particularly appalled at the fact that Spicer was being lampooned by a female comedian. It's hard to imagine this president being pleased that his press secretary has been reduced to twirls and giddiness.

McCarthy entered the spotlight for her portrayals of the press secretary, starting with this skit in February.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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Melissa Mccarthy Saturday Night Live Sean Spicer