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SNL mocks presidential alert texts in fake Cricket Wireless ad

Bad cell service can be a plus when personal messages from the president go over the top. Plus, inside the GOP locker room, and Pete Davidson slams Kanye West.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
2 min read

There are advantages to having terrible wireless service, Saturday Night Live pointed out in a skit that aired late Saturday.

The first-ever Presidential Alert text message was sent out Wednesday, earning plenty of social-media jokes and commentary, though it was only a test by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Wednesday's text came from FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, which attempted to send the message to every cellphone in the US operating on a network run by a carrier opting into the Wireless Emergency Alert system.

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In the SNL skit, upcoming alerts deliver messages sharing tidbits from the president that are a bit more personal. Phone owners receive such messages as, "Puerto Rico is fine now! I guess the paper towels worked" and randomness such as "Kid Rock sounds better than ever!" One frustrated woman ends up drowning her phone in a street vendor's bin of hot-dog water.

But it turns out the whole video is meant as a mock ad, for Cricket Wireless, the one service that's unable to let any of the messages get through. "Now aren't you happy we have awful service?" intones the narrator.

Asked for comment, Cricket Wireless pointed to a tweet in which it noted that it was flattered by the joke -- and got in a dig at rival T-Mobile. "Getting pranked by #SNL is the mother of all honors," the tweet read, with a shout-out to the show's Leslie Jones. "Thank you @lesdoggg, but for the record, we have more 4G LTE coverage than @TMobile."

SNL's Saturday show also featured a cold-open sketch where Republican politicians celebrate Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court with a locker-room party, which quickly became YouTube's top trending video. 

In another buzzed-about moment, cast member Pete Davidson went on Weekend Update and criticized the previous week's musical guest, rapper Kanye West. West ended that show by wearing a Make America Great Again red hat and defending President Donald Trump, but Davidson also addressed remarks West had made off the show about slavery and welfare.

"Do you know how wrong about politics you have to be for, like, me to notice?" Davidson asked before donning a Make Kanye 2006 Again red hat.

First published Oct. 7, 11:56 a.m. PT.
Update, 12:52 p.m. PT: Adds response from Cricket Wireless.