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Cheri Oteri Explains Her Absence From SNL 40th Anniversary Special

Cheri Oteri was a notably absent Saturday Night Live alum from the show’s 40th anniversary celebration Sunday and Twitter lighted up wondering why she was not included in the festivities. Rest a...
Cheri Oteri Explains Her Absence From SNL 40th Anniversary Special
Written by Pam Wright
  • Cheri Oteri was a notably absent Saturday Night Live alum from the show’s 40th anniversary celebration Sunday and Twitter lighted up wondering why she was not included in the festivities.

    Rest assured people, Cheri Oteri had a very good reason for not being there.

    It turns out she couldn’t make the show simply because of a scheduling conflict.

    Cheri Oteri appeared on Watch What Happens Live Monday night and said she couldn’t attend because of a scheduling conflict that couldn’t be resolved until the very last minute, when it was just too late for her to participate.

    Oteri, who appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1995-2000, is known for her outrageous impersonations, most notably of Barbara Walters, and a recurring cheerleading skit known as The Spartans with Will Farrell.

    Cheri Oteri explained how the famous skit came about to The Hollywood Reporter.

    “When we all first got the job, the new people ran down to the 8H stage, and we just started improvising,” said Oteri. “I was a cheerleader in high school, and I would stomp my feet and clap and kind of form a beat while waiting for my turn, and then Will started doing it. He started just doing it really seriously. And then we started laughing. We said to each other we should write a cheerleading sketch.”

    “Two weeks later, we were in my office, and I was like, ‘OK, do you want to write that baby sketch or that cheerleading sketch?’ So we started writing the cheerleading sketch,” she continued. “We thought it would be funny if these people had all this team spirit but didn’t make the squad. And they just decided to cheer anyway. They just keep showing up to places where they weren’t wanted to cheer, like the math team and Ping-Pong or chess.”

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