Gigi Hadid debuts Melania Trump impression at the AMAs, internet reacts
Things quickly got political at the 2016 American Music Awards on Sunday when co-hosts Jay Pharoah and Gigi Hadid broke out their best impressions of President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania.
In an attempt to impress her co-host, Pharoah, best-known for his impersonations from when he was on “Saturday Night Live,” Hadid first revealed the act she had been “practicing all week” during the opening monologue.
The 21-year-old model pursed her lips, and said, “This is my Melania Trump impression. I gotta get the face right.”
Hadid poked fun at the soon-to-be first lady’s address at the Republican National Convention, where she was accused of lifting words from First Lady Michelle Obama’s Democratic convention speech in 2008.
“I love my husband, President Barack Obama,” joked Hadid, speaking in a fake accent. “And our children, Sasha and Malia.”
The audience chuckled as Pharoah exclaimed, “That’s spot on!”
While the crowd at the AMAs seemed to enjoy Hadid’s comedic act, the internet gave the performance a mixed review.
Some agreed with Pharoah’s view that the impression was “spot on”:
Others said the impression was “mean,” and called Hadid out for bullying:
And at least one user is anticipating Mr. Trump’s response Monday morning:
But the impressions didn’t stop at the future first lady.
Pharoah soon followed up with his own “bigly” impression of President-elect Trump.
“I love Bruno Mars. I don’t know what color he is, so I can’t deport him,” said Pharoah, while impersonating the president-elect on stage. “I mean, everyone, everyone, look, he looks like Mowgli from ‘The Jungle Book,’ he does. Alright? Listen everyone, I love ‘Uptown Funk,’ it was so totally about me, it was originally called ‘Uptown Trump.’ Listen, I’m going to funk this country up, bigly.”
