Prior to this year’s Team USA men’s basketball team heading to the Paris Olympics, they were met by a special guest: former President Barack Obama.
To the blind eye, he greeted the men in a casual manner, but it felt all too familiar to viewers after the video began to circulate on social media—which reminded them of an infamous comedy skit from Key & Peele.
In the sketch, Peele as Obama greeted white attendees in a very formal manner, but approached Black people in a very informal, universally understood way.
Obama did the same with LeBron James and Steph Curry, sparking hilarious reactions from fans.
One person described it as “the best thing I’ve seen today.” Author Justin Tinsley joked, “Barry O ain’t never beating those Key and Peele allegations lolol.”
Another person teased, “Not Key & Peele being a documentary,” as someone else quipped, “President Obama is so funny! You can’t tell him he’s not the smoothest and coolest man in the room.”
During Key & Peele‘s heyday, co-creator Keegan-Michael Key explained how Obama helped him improve his impersonation of him as his angry translator.
In an interview on The Tonight Show, Key reflected doing the bit for the former president in-person and Obama had just one critique.
“I was telling him a story about impersonating him, about the fact that I was impersonating him to Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy’s wife, and her kids put me up to it. I got to relay that story to him and tell him that I was doing this impersonation, and he was giggling and laughing at the story. And then at the end, he goes, ‘You know, my register’s a little bit lower than what you’re doing.’ Duly noted, sir. Thank you,” Key recalled.
Relive the Obama-related skit from the hit comedy show above.
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