On Wednesday night, Samantha Bee found herself once again tearing into Brett Kavanaugh—who still has no shortage of defenders, despite additional allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against the Supreme Court nominee from multiple women. As Bee put it, sexual assault allegations are like rattails: even “one is too many, and absolutely disqualifies you from the Supreme Court.” Unfortunately, Republicans who are still trying to rush toward a confirmation for their Supreme Court pick do not agree—leaving Bee with a lot of righteous fury, and, fortunately for viewers, plenty of places to point it.
Kavanaugh now faces credible allegations of sexual assault from three women. Christine Blasey Ford, who came forward first, alleges that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her during a party, clapping his hand over her mouth as she tried to scream. Deborah Ramirez, who knew Kavanaugh during his time at Yale, alleges that he exposed himself to her and forcibly shoved his penis in her face, causing her to touch it without her consent. And most recently, in a sworn declaration, Julie Swetnick alleged that Kavanaugh once made frequent practice of spiking the drinks at parties to lower womens inhibitions, in the hopes of being able to “gang-rape” them; she said she became a victim of a similar assault in 1982, though she did not name Kavanaugh as one of her assailants.
Throughout the past week or so, late-night comedians have once again found themselves repeatedly addressing increasingly harrowing allegations, going after both Kavanaugh himself and those who continue to support him. In a running joke on Wednesdays Full Frontal, Bees rage manifested as a Carrie-like ability to set things on fire with her mind. Bee was particularly galled when noting that Republicans reportedly knew about Ramirezs allegations before they became public—and responded by attempting to speed up his confirmation process, rather than investigating.
“Why would Republicans try to rush his nomination through faster when they found out about more allegations?” Bee said. “Thats like realizing you have diarrhea and rushing away from the bathroom. Thats not really the right analogy; I just really hope Mitch McConnell has diarrhea today.”
Kavanaugh, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence, repeatedly denying any and all claims of sexual misconduct, and maintaining that he was a virgin in high school and for many years after—though as Seth Meyers pointed out Tuesday, virgins are also capable of committing assault. Kavanaughs defenders have also continued to question the validity of the allegations, and the intentions and memories of the women making them. “Whatever Kavanaugh did to women in high school and college,” Bee said, “a great way to persuade us that hes not that guy anymore would be to stop gaslighting women now.”
Another wrinkle in all of this? Donald Trumps unhinged sideshow of a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, in which the president offered rambling takedowns of disparate targets, including Democrats, China, and even George Washington. Given the late timing of the presser, the comedians who addressed it Wednesday night had to do so on the fly, only shortly after Trump spoke to the media. As Jimmy Kimmel noted, “the wheels are off the wagon.”
“Its time to put grandpa in an assisted-living facility,” Kimmel said, “because he cannot care for himself. What a performance, this one! It was like the craziest voice mail from your mom—ever. It went on and on, and all over the place . . . You know how they say Rod Rosenstein wanted to tape [Trump] to show everyone hes nuts? Not necessary. He did it himself.”
Kimmel pummeled Trump over several claims in his press conference, including Trumps implication that he does not like being famous. “I dont know who it was that put [Trumps] name in such giant letters on these buildings,” Kimmel snarked, “but whoever did this owes him an apology bigly—and immediately.”
“The press conference was successful only in that he did not physically melt or explode during it,” Kimmel added. “The craziest part is I bet he thinks he nailed it.”
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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