The Rachel Maddow Show WEEKNIGHTS 9PM ETMorning Joe WEEKDAYS 6AM ETDeadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace Weekdays 4PM ETThe Beat with Ari Melber Weeknights 6PM ETThe Weeknight Weeknights 7PM ETAll in with Chris Hayes TUESDAY-FRIDAY 8PM ETThe Briefing with Jen Psaki TUESDAYS – FRIDAYS 9PM ETThe Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnel Weeknights 10PM ETThe 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle Weeknights 11PM ET
Comedians Key and Peele on creating Obama’s ‘anger translator’
What would happen if the normally calm, collected President of the United States started expressing every emotion, no matter how over-the-top?
n_hardball_6comedy_121120
By
Traci Lee
What would happen if the normally calm, collected President of the United States started expressing every emotion, no matter how over-the-top? Just ask the comedic duo of Comedy Central’s Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele: the two have created an “anger translator” for President Obama in their sketch comedy show Key and Peele.
Key and Peele joined Hardball Tuesday night to talk about humor and politics, and where the character of “Luther,” the president’s “anger translator,” came from.
“A few years back when Joe Wilson had the ‘you lie’ statement, Jordan and I were trying to figure out something to write about,” Key said. “We were discussing that thing about Joe Wilson—you know, if you said that, a president should be allowed to react to that comment, but he can’t because of who he is.”
Peele described “Luther” as “Cory Booker with three Red Bulls,” adding that the idea of an “anger translator” for the president could give him a moment of much-needed catharsis.
Following the second presidential debate, Key and Peele included a sketch in their show about a few noteworthy moments from the evening:
PEELE as Obama: “He was proud of his efforts to include qualified women in his cabinet…”
KEY as Luther: “You made it sound like finding a qualified woman is like hunting down a sasquatch, riding on the back of a unicorn, reading the specifics of your tax plan!”
PEELE/Obama: “…and he even dew a tenuous connection between single parent households and gun violence.”
KEY/Luther: “That’s right, yeah—children of single parents usually grow up to use AK-47s. Or become the president.“
Key and Peele also talked about meeting the president in May after George Clooney’s fundraiser, and described him as a funny and “warm guy.”
“He looks at Keegan and goes, ‘Now, I need Luther. I need him. It’s going to have to wait until the second term, but I need him,’” Peele said, impersonating Obama. “Out of the gate, he was pretty hilarious.”
He added that he and Key got “bro hugs” from the president.
