in memoriam

Kate McKinnon Pays Tribute to ‘Robed Crusader’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Photo: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via

Kate McKinnon has shared her thoughts on the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday of pancreatic cancer. McKinnon, who played Ginsburg on Saturday Night Live since her first season in 2012, honored the late Supreme Court Justice in a statement. “For so many of us, Justice Ginsburg was a real-life superhero: a beacon of hope, a warrior for justice, a robed crusader who saved the day time and again,” McKinnon said. “Playing her on SNL was a profound joy because I could always feel the overwhelming love and gratitude that the audience had for her.” McKinnon went on to share that “it was one of the great honors of my life to meet Justice Ginsburg, to shake her hand, and to thank her for her lifetime of service to this country.” Ginsburg was one of McKinnon’s most beloved impressions on SNL, with Ginsburg herself remarking, “I would like to say ‘Gins-burn!’ sometimes to my colleagues.” McKinnon joins a growing number of celebrities mourning the death of Ginsburg, including Felicity Jones, who also portrayed the late Justice onscreen in 2018’s On the Basis of Sex.

Kate McKinnon Pays Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg