Spirit Halloween blasts SNL for too close to home sketch that mocked their business model

In the premiere of its 50th season this past Saturday, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch poking fun at Spirit Halloween, suggesting that the seasonal store was a lifeline for struggling communities, filling empty storefronts left behind by closed businesses.

'Communities are struggling. Closed stores. Shuttered businesses. Empty parking lots. When hard times hit, it's easy to feel like no one cares. But help is on the way,' the narrator says in the SNL sketch. 'We don't see a dead-end town. We don't see an abandoned Kmart. We see a spirit, a Spirit Halloween.'

However, the parody also mocked the store's offerings, claiming they included 'wigs that give you a rash, single-use fog machines, and costumes of famous characters tweaked just enough to avoid a lawsuit.'

The seasonal chain responded to the sketch the following Monday in an X post, firing back by dissing the sketch comedy's show declining ratings.

'We are great at raising things back from the dead @nbcsnl,' Spirit Halloween wrote seemingly in response to the sketch.

The company shared an image of a costume called 'SNL 50: The Anniversary Season,' that included 'dated references, unknown cast members and shrinking ratings.'

Spirit Halloween wasn't the only subject of trolling by SNL as the episode also included gags poking fun at Kamala Harris' and Donald Trump's 2024 election campaigns.

The show, known for its Democratic-leaning stance, has consistently gone easy on the Biden Administration and, as expected, reserved its sharpest criticism for Donald Trump.

In a recent skit, it didn't need to add much, simply reenacting Trump's controversial remarks about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs.

SNL alumna Maya Rudolph returned to the cast as Kamala Harris, reprising her 'fun aunt,' or 'Funt,' persona as the Democratic presidential candidate.

'The Funt has been rebooted,' Rudolph's Harris said. '2 Funt, 2 Furious.'

Harris joked that she was campaigning in 'Wisconsin-Pennsylv-Georgia,' a playful nod to the key swing states vital for a Democratic win.

'I am so happy to be campaigning in whatever swing state I'm in, which I will just refer to as Wisconsin-Pennsylv-Georgia because I am going to protect your Va-Georgia', Rudolph said, referring to Harris' promise to protect women's rights to an abortion.

'You see, my campaign is like the Sabrina Carpenter song "Espresso,"' Rudolph's Harris joked. 'The lyrics are vague but the vibe slaps.'

She added: 'Now this election is about moving forward. You see, Donald Trump is stuck in the past, but it's like I say to my husband Doug when he leaves his phone at the Chili's, "We are not going back."'

Jim Gaffigan was then introduced as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, joking, 'In Minnesota, we have a saying: 'Mind your damn business.''

He added, 'We also have another saying: 'My nuts froze to the park bench.''

Gaffigan's Tim Walz boasted about his 'BDE… big dad energy' while showing off his Costco-brand suit.

'It's personal for me. I love this country. And as a former teacher, I need the money,' he quipped.

'I haven't been this excited since I got a 10 percent rebate on a leaf blower at Menards,' Gaffigan's Walz joked. 'Can I just say, I've got that B.D.E… Big Dad Energy. You see what I did there?'

Rudolph's Kamala Harris responded, 'I got it. I didn't want it, but I got it,' before introducing her husband.

'Tim's not the only white dude here for Harris today,' she teased.

Andy Samberg appeared as Doug Emhoff, Harris' Jewish husband, calling himself the 'Second Gentlemensch' and joking about decorating the White House for Christmas: 'The theme is Hanukkah.'

'I've heard what the right says about me because I unapologetically support my wife: 'Oh, he's a beta, a wife guy, a trad husband, a little spoon.'

'You know what? If helping Kamala — or Mamala, as we call her — become president means being a little spoon, then go ahead and cut my little butt,' Samberg's Emhoff said.

But the sharpest jabs were aimed at James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump. During a rally, Trump noticed the crowd trying to leave.

'I see you trying to leave, but the doors are locked!' Johnson's Trump exclaimed, before lamenting that he's no longer running against Biden.

'What I wouldn't give to have him stand next to me, all old and frail! We had this in the bag, but then they did a switcheroo, swapping out Biden with "skubala,"' he grumbled.

'They say me blaming the Democrats for inciting violence is like the pot calling the kettle black, but honestly, I didn't even know the kettle was black until very recently. I thought the kettle was Indian. Then it decided to turn black,' he said, taking a swipe at Harris' ethnicity.

Johnson's Trump doubled down on his bizarre claims about immigrants eating pets, saying, 'They're doing freak-offs with the dogs, and they're making the geese watch… They're doing a Diddy,' referencing the rapper's recent arrest.

Fellow cast member Bowen Yang appeared as Trump's VP, J.D. Vance, with Trump staffers rolling away the bulletproof glass as Vance took the stage.

'Just this afternoon, he [Trump] told me, 'J.D., you're like a son to me because I don't want you, and I'm stuck with you.' People are calling me a creep, a weirdo, asking what the hell I'm doing here? I'll tell you what I'm doing—getting this crowd fired up! You guys are awesome. Let's talk platform. It's called Project 2025, and…'

The skit then cut back to the Harris rally, with Dana Carvey portraying President Joe Biden. Biden wandered aimlessly around the stage, squinting and getting confused, as he fumbled his words and began rambling in circles.

'A lot of people forget I'm president. Even me!' Carvey's Biden joked.

Rudolph's Harris then thanked 'J Biden' for 'putting the country first and handing over the reins.'

'I didn't want to! They made me,' Carvey's Biden blurted out, seemingly revealing the truth.

'I think I did a pretty good job. I passed more bills than any president in history. Folks, we still got work to do, no joke. I'm being serious right now. Come on. Guess what, and by the way. The fact of the matter is—' Carvey's Biden rambled, increasingly mixing up his words.

Rudolph's Harris cut in, 'We can end the drama-la and the trauma-la, and go relax in our pajama-las,' only for Biden to interrupt again, getting uncomfortably close to her.