SNL received a fair amount of criticism for a sketch last season that turned a high student student (Pete Davidson) into a hero for sleeping with his teacher (Cecily Strong). Responses to “Hot for Teacher” — which failed to mock the double standard of a male student having sex with his female teacher versus a male teacher doing the same thing with his female student — ranged from frustrated anger (“I’m actually offended by this “hot for teacher” skit on #SNL… sends the wrong message about sexual abuse. Not cool. Not funny”) to a straight-up NOPE (“Thanks NBC’ got some free time when I stopped watching/deleted #SNL after statutory rape “comedy” in first sketch”).
So, naturally, SNL brought the sketch back.
Except this time, Strong has a partner: Ronda Rousey, who wasn’t asked to do much more than sheepishly whisper “so corny.” Everything else is the same: Davidson is still like Forrest Gump in that scene where people start following him during his run across America, and Kenan Thompson’s proud judge still thinks he’s the man (or “my man,” to quote Denzel Washington).
It’s an odd sketch to resurrect, and responses are just disappointed as they were last time. One Twitter user wrote, “SNL trivializing sexual harassment, rape, inappropriate student/teacher relationships was appalling. Do better.”
https://twitter.com/thereaderfilm/status/691130960167895040
Did I just watch an SNL skit making fun of child rape?
— Susanna Daniel (@SusannaDaniel) January 24, 2016
Yet another sketch that didn't need to be revisited: The hilarity of female-on-male statutory rape. #ugh #snl
— Michael Slezak (@MichaelSlezakTV) January 24, 2016
On the bright side, hopefully “Teacher Trial” inspires Rousey to get hyped for her next fight by calling herself “the queen of everything” in a mirror.