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See Donald Trump Dance in Spoof of Drake’s Turrell-Esque ‘Hotline Bling’ Video
There's an unexpected cameo by the 2016 presidential candidate.
There's an unexpected cameo by the 2016 presidential candidate.
Cait Munro ShareShare This Article
Saturday Night Live managed to spoof two popular cultural touchstones at once this weekend with a performance that featured Donald Trump dancing awkwardly to Drake’s Hotline Bling—James Turrell-esque backdrops and all.
For the blissfully uninitiated, the Canadian rapper and actor released a music video for his hit song in October, and the glowing, geometric backgrounds he gyrated uncomfortably in front of were reminiscent of the California light artist’s work, which was a hit at his retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2014.
Drake had admitted his appreciation for Turrell in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying, “I fuck with Turrell. He was a big influence on the visuals for my last tour.”
After the release of the video, Turrell said in a statement: “While I am truly flattered to learn that Drake fucks with me, I nevertheless wish to make clear that neither I nor any of my woes [sic] was involved in any way in the making of the Hotline Bling video.”
While art worlders are scratching their heads about the connection between Drake and Turrell, the rest of the world is laughing over the hip hop star’s awkward dance moves. By inserting the presidential candidate posing as a tax adviser in Drake’s place, it guaranteed SNL a few laughs, capitalizing on a Vine meme that superimposed Trump’s head over Drake’s.
Trump’s appearance on the program, however, received mixed reviews and drew throngs of protesters, so it’s probably lucky for Turrell that he distanced himself from the get-go. In case you missed it, you can catch the full video here.