The pair have brought the legendary lines of The Poetess to one of the biggest shows in the US
BY ELEANOR NOYCE, IMAGE VIA ARIANA DEBOSE ON INSTAGRAM
To mark the first episode of the year, queer icons Kate McKinnon and Ariana DeBose have collaborated on a fabulously gay sketch for Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Kate and Ariana have warmed LGBTQI hearts the world over in their hilarious portrayal of lecturers in Classics at Cornell University. Platforming the works of iconic lesbian poet Sappho, an Ancient Greek poet from Lesbos, Greece, that documented her love of women in over 10,000 lines of poetry, the pair claimed to have discovered entire scrolls of her lusty prose. Infamous amongst literary lesbians, Sappho’s poetry is attributed towards the origins of the word “lesbian”, derived from the word “Lesbos”, the island on which Sappho lived.
Playing into the myriad of stereotypes encompassing the lesbian experience, Kate and Ariana read: “Wind in mountains. Eye of goldenrod. We broke up, Helena. Please get your sandals out of here”. Be real: have you ever met a lesbian that doesn’t own a pair of Birkenstocks? “Golden raisins. River banks. Nancy, we just met. You’re scary and a bitch. Move in with me”. Where’s the lie? It’s an ancient custom that queer women inevitably have U-Haul on speed dial.
Having starred in the likes of The Big Gay Sketch Show, Ted 2 and Ghostbusters, Kate is much adored by the #WLW community. Presenting the Carol Burnett Award to Ellen DeGeneres at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards, Kate opened up about identifying as a lesbian, subsequently thanking Ellen for her visibility as a queer woman. Likewise, Ariana DeBose has starred in West Side Story and The Prom, opening up to DIVA in the January issue about bring queer, coming out and launching the Unruly Hearts Initiative with co-star Jo Ellen Pellman.
To no surprise, LGBTQI women and non-binary people have embraced the sketch with open arms.
An important moment for #WLW visibility, Kate and Ariana have platformed Sappho’s ancient queer poetry on a show which regularly draws up to 9 million viewers per episode in its seven-day ratings. Long may this wonderfully queer partnership continue.
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