17-02-2025
Robert De Niro Strangles Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer at ‘SNL50': ‘You're Going to Shut It'
Robert De Niro and Rachel Dratch faced off on 'SNL50,' with the Oscar winner confronting the former cast member in her Debbie Downer character, playing a bartender, during a sketch in the home stretch of the anniversary special.
'At this point, we're all walking landfills,' Dratch said, in a reference to microplastics. 'Odds are they've already taken up residence in your testes.'
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'Deborah, I'm going to talk now, and you're going to shut it,' De Niro, as a bar customer, responded. 'I do not appreciate this conversation. I don't want to talk about plastic in my balls. … I came here tonight to get a little frigging break from our world right now, which is like living in a full diaper.'
'Diapers are a leading culprit in the microplastic saga,' Dratch fired back, prompting De Niro to playfully strangle her.
De Niro was a walk-on for the sketch, which began with Downer tending bar for visiting celebrities Drew Barrymore and Ayo Edebiri. Jimmy Fallon also appeared, breaking up De Niro's beef at the end of the sketch.
'Bobby, Bobby, stop! It's not worth it! She thinksshe is helping, okay?' Fallon said. 'My kids taught me to see the best in people.'
'Speaking of kids, it's official: I can't have children,' Dratch's Downer exclaims.
Watch the anniversary skit below:
Debbie Downer first debuted in the 2004 episode of 'SNL' hosted by Lindsay Lohan. The original sketch saw Lohan and cast members get their DisneyWorld vacation ruined by Downer. The integrity of the bit was also ruined too, as everybody onscreen helplessly broke character and collapsed into laughs at some point during the taping. Since that indelible first impression, Dratch has returned to 'SNL' as Downer several times.
Watch the original sketch below.
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