This was inevitable, right? Testimony that made some viewers gag now feeds gags in another sense.
So three TV funnymen join the Mellissa Carone pile-on, as The New York Times posts in a daily "Best of Late Night" roundup:
Mellissa Carone testifying Wednesday night. (Photo: Michigan House TV)
► "It's not a good sign when Rudy Giuliani has to lean over and go" 'You're making a fool of yourself. ... Once again, that was their star witness. Where does Rudy keep finding these people, LinkedInsane? ... I don't know that woman, but I can guarantee you her Uber rating is below two stars." -- Jimmy Fallon
► "What are the odds she's wearing a 'Rosé All Day' tank top under that scarf? ... I've watched this clip around 14 times now; I'm still not convinced she's a real person." — Jimmy Kimmel
► "She concluded her testimony by saying: 'I would like to speak to America's manager. I'll wait.'" — Stephen Colbert
Original article, Thursday:
Mellissa Carone of Grosse Pointe Woods (by way of Downriver) lobs a midweek gift from Lansing to a Manhattan writers' room. "SNL writers can take this week off," says a tweet suggesting her Capitol testimony about imagined election fraud is a ready-made skit.
No need to await the weekend, actually. Carone's zany performances at two Michigan Legislature hearings this week generate ridicule at the 24-hour comedy club online. Her name is a hashtag and she's described as a "whistledrinker" rather than a whistleblower. One video clip of her testimony has nearly 800,000 viewings by Thursday night.
Imagine lining up your witnesses and this is the best you got https://t.co/9edSlduzIa
— rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) December 1, 2020
Washington Post coverage Thursday dismisses "her offbeat tale" as "blatantly false testimony."
Rudy Giuliani and Mellissa Carone (Photo: Facebook)
So what do we know about this 33-year-old instant piñata with a wispy bond updo?
Carone, who grew up in Allen Park and graduated from Inter-City Baptist School there, studied computer science at ITT Technical Institute in Dearborn and the University of Michigan.
Her series of information technology jobs includes 16 months as a cyber security analyst for Ford Motor Co. until last August, when she became a contractor for Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology supplier in Denver. She was on the job Nov. 3-4 at TCF Center in Detroit as the Wayne County clerk's office fed absentee ballots into Dominion scanner and tabulators.
► Giuliani parks the Crazytown bus outside
Michigan Capitol in bizarre House hearing
► Mellissa Carone Harassed, Sent Sex Videos To Boyfriend's Ex
Carone relishes the sudden spotlight, as suggested by grinning poses in Lansing alongside Rudy Giuliani, who sat alongside her in front of Senate and House committee spectacles Tuesday and Wednesday, and also with state Republican Party leader Laura Cox.
But many reactions are nothing to grin about. A sampling:
Giulianis voter fraud „whistledrinker“ is rude af and vibing major drunk girl energy at this bonkers public hearing.
— Cornelius Colla (@01010110ictory) December 3, 2020
Proost#drinkordrive #Giuliani #MellissaCarone #Trump pic.twitter.com/PKjc7hbs6p
Dear world,
— Abed A. Ayoub (@aayoub) December 3, 2020
Please know that this does not at all represent our great state of Michigan.
Thank you. https://t.co/SZszk08OrY
Who did her hair? #MichiganHearing
— Karen Dybis (@KarenDybis) December 3, 2020
Another wag, political scientist Daniel Drezner of Tufts University, sees her schtick as too over the top for the NBC show. "Seriously, if SNL did this verbatim for its cold open, conservative culture warriors would be loudly yelling about unfair stereotypes," he tweets Wednesday night.
We make no judgment on whether Carone's "holy smokes" testimony upholds her Allen Park parochial school's mission to educate students "whose character and conduct reflect Christlikeness and bring glory to God."
Wednesday night hearing portion:
