Why Was This Perfect Skit Deleted From Natalie Portman’s SNL Episode?

SNL has managed to become permanently and historically relevant in the minds of comedy fans across generations. What this means for the sketch show is that it can suck – like, really suck – for long periods of time without the threat of being pulled off the air.
But, in adherence to the Buddhist teaching of impermanence, sucking inevitably turns into winning, and winning is what SNL has been doing lately.
That being said, there is no reality in which SNL is doing so well that it can afford to cut out one of the most objectively funny skits of, at the very least, the past month.
And yet.
Tuesday evening, a deleted sketch from Natalie Portman’s episode, which aired Saturday night, made its way around the Internet. Featuring Natalie Portman as the compassionate mother of a little girl with sociopathic tendencies, the sketch pokes perfect fun at a toy industry that still treats little girls like mommies in training.
Instead, the sketch teaches little girls a more important lesson: it is never your fault if your handsome prince comes with children. And you have no obligation to be nice to them.
Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Fast Forward Jewish Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky reportedly to retire after 26 years in office
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.