Janet Reno, who died Monday at 78, made history in 1993 when she became the first female U.S. attorney general. She played a major role in the decade’s most high-profile legal entanglements, including the siege in Waco and the investigation into then-President Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Even as she blazed trails as one of the country’s highest-ranking female officials, her place within popular culture became synonymous with Will Ferrell’s impersonation on “Saturday Night Live.” But Ferrell’s take on Reno was more of a caricature than an imitation of the actual woman.
In the recurring sketch “Janet Reno’s Dance Party,” Ferrell plays a tough-talking, takes-no-crap government official who finds refuge in the dance parties she regularly hosts in her basement. Clinton sometimes shows up to try to persuade her to return to Washington. She rebuffs him, and continues her jerky, enthusiastic dancing with the crowd of teenagers in attendance.
“I really like dancing to that one,” Reno would declare. “I want to dance to that one again.” The rock music kicks back in.
Sometimes, Reno interviews teens who quickly wear on her nerves. “Shut your mouth, you dirty liar,” she would retort.
In one sketch, she challenges then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to a boxing match. In another, she slow-dances with Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, played by Kevin Spacey.
Ferrell began playing Reno in 1997. The part carried many characteristic Ferrell “SNL” mannerisms — loud, angry people whose serious presence bordered on absurdity. Ferrell told the Washington Post Magazine in 1998 his only goal with the Reno sketches was to be silly:
Late-night comics joked about her physical stature, her clothing, her sexuality. When some of these barbs were read for her in 1998, Reno remarked, “I think people are having fun.” As for “SNL’s” take, “I thought it was just kind of a spoof of this 6-foot-1 big old girl,” she told The Post in 1998. “I can’t figure out why anybody’s that interested in me.”
Ferrell, for his part, wasn’t really going for a mirror impersonation of Reno. “I just sound the way she looks,” he told The Post in 1998. He later added: “I hate to break it down into something as simple as the fact that she’s tall, but it’s almost as simple as that.”
But Reno did get in on the joke. During her unsuccessful gubernatorial run, she held a “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” campaign event at a trendy nightclub in Florida. She referenced the sketch often in speeches. Supporters cited her attitude toward the Ferrell impersonation as evidence of her down-to-earth nature.
And on her last day as attorney general, she appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” joining Ferrell playing her alter-ego dance party host to thunderous applause.
“Hi, Janet,” Ferrell said.
“Your mouth, just zip it,” Reno said, mimicking the caricature that Ferrell had developed. “I like your dress, Janet.”
“Thanks, Janet, I like yours, too,” Ferrell said. “Oh Janet, I can’t believe I have to say goodbye. What do you do when you get sad?”
“I just dance,” Reno said. “Now, hit it!”
