SNL ridicules Kristi Noem over dog-killing revelations

Cast member Marcello Hernández, dressed in a dog costume, introduced himself as Ms Noem’s ‘dog’ - Cricket the Seventh

Saturday Night Live poked fun at Kristi Noem’s revelation that she killed her dog Cricket, a detail included in her upcoming memoir that has illicited outrage from all sides of the political spectrum.

The South Dakota governor, rumored to be in the running for Donald Trump’s vice president pick, revealed in her book No Going Back that she shot her “working dog” Cricket due to his poor behaviour.

She also called the 14-month-old dog “untrainable” and “less than worthless”.

On SNL’s Weekend Update segment this Saturday, Ms Noem’s “new dog” appeared to defend the governor.

Cast member Marcello Hernández, dressed in a dog costume, introduced himself as “Cricket the Seventh”, telling host Colin Jost that “the first six were bad dogs... But you know what they say, lucky number seven, right?”

Marcello Hernández playing Kristi Noem’s dog Cricket on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update with Colin Jost this weekend (Saturday Night Live)

At first, the new “Cricket” insisted that Ms Noem is a “great dog owner” and that the whole thing has been a “media spin.” Jost then points out that Ms Noem was the one to reveal that she had killed the dog in the book.

Cricket VII’s facade starts to fall apart as he seemingly tries to alert the host that he is terrified.

“Scared? I’m not scared,” the dog told Jost. “I have a great life. [Noem] gets me so many toys. She even got me one of those dog button mats you can press to talk.”

Cricket VII then shows off his toy which announces: “She is going to kill me.”

“These are like broken or something; that’s not what I meant to say... She is the best. You know what they say: I don’t know if she rescued me … or if I’m going to get shot in the face.”

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation conference at the Library of Congress on 17 February 2023. Noem has come under fire for revelations that she shot and killed a dog two decades ago (Getty Images)

Cricket VII’s real feelings became more clear as the interview goes on. By the end, he whispers: “She’s writing another book. She keeps saying, ‘You better behave, or you’re going to go in the book’.”

Jost finally asks the dog if the governor “kills all her animals?”

The dog replies: “Yeah, Colin, she kills all her animals,” and laughs. He then proceeds to slide a note with his paw across the desk to Jost that reads: “I’m wasn’t being sarcastic.”

Noem was roasted more than once on SNL. During her opening monologue, singer Dua Lipa offered the audience positive advice to celebrate her new album, Radical Optimism.

After helping cast members Bowen Yang and Andrew Dismukes see the bright side of their problems, fellow SNL-er Heidi Gardner stood up in a MAGA hat and introduced herself as “South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.”

"No, No, No. Sorry. I can’t help," Dua Lipa said, quickly shutting her down.