When “SNL” Star Kate McKinnon Finally Met Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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They say you should never meet your heroes—unless you do a ridiculous impression of them on television.

Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon attended an off-Broadway performance of Fiddler on the Roof earlier this week. What are the odds she’d be in the audience the same night as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of her recurring SNL characters?

“Ruth and Kate both came into the house right before the curtain rose for Act 1, so not a lot of people noticed,” an eyewitness told People. “But at intermission, word spread with the crowd and they went crazy for her, giving her a standing ovation after she came back from the bathroom. Someone even shouted ‘Rock on Ruth!’ It was electrifying.” The ovation reportedly lasted about two minutes.

“Ruth was so gracious, smiling, waving and shaking hands with fans,” the source continued. “Kate got up at one point from her seat and shook Ruth’s hand, too. She was overjoyed and was cheering Ruth on with the rest of the crowd. It was adorable.”

“The two of them had never met before,” Fiddler actor Bobby Underwood wrote on Instagram, “and Ruth said to Kate ’I’ve seen you before.’ Kate responded ’I’ve seen you before too’ and doubled over, overwhelmed. She was as starstruck as we were.”

Joel Grey directs the Fiddler on the Roof revival, which is performed in Yiddish with supertitles. Ginsburg and McKinnon both joined Grey onstage after the show, posing for photos with the entire cast and crew.

“These two incredible women—it could not have made me happier,” Grey said. “You’ve never seen happier faces on 50 people.”

Ginsburg can be seen watching McKinnon’s SNL impression in the 2018 documentary RBG, calling the comedian “marvelously funny” but “not one bit” like her. She also addressed the impersonation at the 2018 Sundance festival: “I liked the actress who portrayed me, and I would like to say ‘Gins-burn’ sometimes to my colleagues.”

Celebrity interviewer. Foodie and Broadway buff in Manhattan. Hates writing bios.

@brandonvoss

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