‘Sleepy Joe’: Saudi Ramadan TV comedy pokes fun at US leader

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‘Sleepy Joe’: Saudi Ramadan TV comedy pokes fun at US leader

‘Sleepy Joe’: Saudi Ramadan TV comedy pokes fun at US leader

A still from a sketch aired by Saudi Arabia's MBC broadcaster showing actors playing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (MBC)

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13 Apr 2022 05:04:30 GMT9

Arab News

LONDON: A clip from Saudi Arabian TV show “Studio 22” went viral on social media on Tuesday for poking fun at US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the clip, Biden is portrayed as elderly and incapable, falling asleep mid-sentence, while his vice president, played by a male actor in drag, can be seen telling the president what to say and correcting his mistakes.

At the end of the one-minute clip, Biden falls asleep with Harris holding him upright, shouting: “Clap for the president.”

“Studio 22,” now in its second season, is a comedy show broadcast during Ramadan by MBC Group and available via the streaming platform Shahid.

The series tells the story of a satellite TV channel facing bankruptcy and its owner’s desperate efforts to continue running the business despite devastating losses. The new season has mocked other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

CNBC News Anchor Hadley Gamble shared the video with the tweet: “SNL of Saudi?”

The SNL of Saudi ? https://t.co/hxFOpQe5bP
— Hadley Gamble (@_HadleyGamble) April 12, 2022

Mocks UK PM Boris Johnson and US secretary of defense Lloyd too.pic.twitter.com/sB7nOIurMx https://t.co/fDr9RZpI7H
— Ali Al-Sakani | علي السكني (@Alsakaniali) April 12, 2022

The clip, similar in style to the popular US show “Saturday Night Live,” amassed more than 3 million views on Twitter and was widely circulated among a Western audience, with many praising MBC for its portrayal of Biden.