Laraine Newman 'Left' a Party When Barbra Streisand Approached Her About HerSNLImpression

Mar. 15, 2025

Laraine Newman; Barbra Streisand.Photo:Lila Seeley/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty

Lila Seeley/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty

Celebrity impersonations are just part of the gig atSaturday Night Live— but not every star is a good sport about them.

“The lyrics are great: ‘Even if one of my films sucks, it still makes 4 million bucks, for me,'” Newman, who was a cast member from 1975 to 1980, recalled of the sketch.

Streisand, 82, “hadn’t seen” the sketch, but when Newman ran into her, she fled rather than face the singer. “I was at my friend’s son’s bar mitzvah, and she was singing at it, and she says, ‘I wanna talk to you.’ And I left. I didn’t wanna talk to her.”

Laraine Newman as Barbra Streisand during “Me” skit on Saturday Night Live 1977.NBCU Photo Bank

NBCU Photo Bank

“She called my manager and said, ‘You tell Cheri, your client, she’s almost got me,'” Oteri, who was onSNLfrom 1995 to 2000, recalled.

Gasteyer, 57, also had good experiences. “Martha StewartandCeline [Dion]were both super gracious,” she said. “Jo Anne Worley left a message on my NBC voicemail — it was the greatest thing.”

Cheri Oteri, Ana Gasteyer, Laraine Newman, Rachel Dratch, Cecily Strong on ‘Watch What Happens Live’.Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

It’s always up in the air how an impression is going to go over after an SNL show. In October, Oasis singerLiam Gallagherwasless than pleased with James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman’s impersonationof him and his brotherNoel.

He called the skit, which saw Johnson and Sherman poke fun at the brothers’ decades-long feud, use of the word “legend” and accents, “excruciating” in a post on X.

When a fan said the skit did Liam “dirty,” he replied, “I wouldn’t expect anything else from them,” and in another tweet, hewroteof Johnson and Sherman, “Are they meant to be comedians?”

Sherman had fun with it, though, as she interacted with Liam’s tweet,writing, “LEGEND 🙌 !!!!!!!!”

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Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special airs Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC

source: people.com