Popular comedic duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele were so busy filming their sketch show Key & Peele that they turned down Barack Obama, the president of the United States, and his offer to make a comedy sketch together about the Affordable Care Act.
In a surprising turn of the tables, it wasn’t President Obama who had to turn down an offer due to his busy schedule, but a group of comedians who didn’t have time for the leader of their country. Key and Peele revealed in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly that President Obama approached them to do a bit about his recently passed (but fairly unpopular) healthcare bill, nicknamed Obamacare. Key and Peele were unable to accept the offer because their schedules were so busy.
“We had to turn [President Obama] down,” Jordan Peele explained to Entertainment Weekly . “We were making the season. We literally couldn’t fit it in to our schedules… so we actually had to relieve the president of his duties. We couldn’t help him out on that one particular time. But this is a country where we technically have status over our elected officials. So you gotta remember, Obama works for us.”
It’s difficult to tell whether or not Key and Peele were disappointed not to work with President Obama, particularly due to Peele’s tone at the end of this statement in claiming that Obama works for the American people. After all, Peele does poke fun at President Obama quite a bit on his show, and Key & Peele doesn’t need any more positive publicity–while the Affordable Care Act definitely does.
According to The Washington Post , Obama decided not to give up on the sketch idea , however, and instead turned to another popular comedian, Zach Galifianakis. The Hangover star agreed to a Between Two Ferns sketch with President Obama to spread the word about the Affordable Care Act. The short and awkward comedy clip featuring Obama himself chatting with Galifianakis provides laughs and information on how American citizens can sign up for health care using the newly implemented online marketplace. The goal of Obama’s Affordable Care Act is to provide as many Americans as possible with relatively affordable health care and shrink the number of uninsured people in the country. For more on Obama’s push for the the Affordable Care Act, click here .
What do you think about Key and Peele turning Obama down? Would you have preferred to see Obama in a Key & Peele sketch rather than on Between Two Ferns ?