Kelly Ripa Tells Maya Rudolph That Her ‘SNL’ Impression of Kamala Harris Inspired Harris to Start “Impersonating” Rudolph “Impersonating Her”

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Maya Rudolph sat down with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on Friday’s Live with Kelly and Mark, where Ripa told the Saturday Night Live alum how her impersonation of Kamala Harris may have influenced the former VP in real life.

“You know, go with me on this,” she said. “I’m gonna land the plane. I promise… I feel that after you impersonated Kamala Harris, Kamala Harris then started impersonating you impersonating her.”

Rudolph replied, “Really?”

After a picture of Rudolph and Harris together during the latter’s Nov. 2, 2024 appearance on the NBC sketch comedy show popped up on screen, Rudolph teased, “Look at how hard I’m smiling.”

“My cheeks look like they’re going to burst I’m smiling so hard,” she added.

Rudolph recalled the moment that the picture was taken, explaining that Harris was saying SNL‘s iconic line—”Live from New York”—for the first time.

“So we didn’t really get to rehearse because she was on the campaign trail,” she said of Harris, who at the time, was running against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. “She literally came in… That was a life experience I will never forget.”

Rudolph told Live that Harris could not attend the dress rehearsal, so they blocked it with Ego Nwodim—who recently announced her exit from SNL— sitting in for her.

“And it was all a secret. And they pulled this wall away. When she came out—the sound in the [room], I get chills thinking about it,” Rudolph remembered of Harris’ appearance. “The sound in the room. The gasps. The excitement, the joy that was still palpable that we still felt.”

Ripa chimed in, “But you had to hold it together.”

Rudolph said she “couldn’t say a word,” noting that “the Secret Service was everywhere.”

“It was crazy,” she shared. “We just showed her the cards right before. And she saw the cards with her lines on it… She was gonna say, ‘Live from New York.’ And I said, well, I never say it before because I feel like it’s kind of superstition. And she said, okay, I’ll wait to say it. And then she looked around the studio and she said, wow, if my mom could see this.”

According to Rudolph, Harris “was so moved because it’s the kind of place where everyone feels that.”

“And she genuinely was so excited to be there,” she continued. “So in that picture when she was saying it, we were both elated. It was joyful. And you can feel it. She’s so happy.”

Ripa revisited her aforementioned thought on Harris taking inspiration from Rudolph.

“I’m telling you… if you watch her now, she’s out on her book tour. I’ve been watching and I’m like, she’s doing Maya Rudolph doing [Kamala Harris],” she reiterated.

Rudolph exclaimed, “I wish! She knows I wish.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.