david paterson

“Saturday Night Live” return to the air last night for its billionth season with host Amy Poehler, musical guest Katy Perry–and very special guest star New York governor David Paterson.
The show has added new cast members–including Jay Pharoah–but the story of the night was Paterson’s visit. “SNL” vet Fred Armisen has a long-running (and not very funny) skit in which he plays the governor–and his depiction of the politician has been criticize in many quarters for insulting the blind. (It’s also offensive to people who are able to see it.)
In the “SNL” skit, Paterson appear next to Armisen. “You know, working in Albany is a lot like watching ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Paterson said in the sketch. “There’s a lot of characters, it’s funny for about ten minutes, and then you just want it to go away.”
Poehler said that the show was “really sorry” for offending him with the sketch.
Paterson shot back “You should be sorry. You have poked so much fun at me for being blind that I forgot I was black.”
Paterson did a better job of delivering his lines than many other guests on “SNL”–which may have made spectators wonder how he was reading the cue cards–or if he had memorize his entire part.