She didn’t get the memo.
On July 31, news broke that Maya Rudolph, 52, will return to her old “Saturday Night Live” stomping grounds to reprise her role as Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 election.
But during a “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” interview with RuPaul, who filled in for Kimmel on Monday, Rudolph did not confirm that she’ll return.
“Will we be seeing Kamala on ‘SNL’ anytime soon?” RuPaul asked.
Rudolph replied by joking, “Interesting that you brought this up, because no one has asked me.”
Rudolph, who was on “SNL” from 2000 to 2007, first played Harris on the Sept. 28, 2019, episode of “SNL” hosted by Woody Harrelson.
“I’ve never experienced something like this in any of the work I’ve done. This has been such a tremendous, exciting time for me that feels so much bigger than me or anything I’ve ever done,” she said on Monday. “I’ve played her on the show before, but the minute it was announced that she was running, I think I was home watching ‘The Bear’ and it was announced that I’d confirmed doing ‘SNL.’ I was like, ‘I did what?’ Everybody’s just ready for it!”
Since leaving “SNL” in 2007, Rudolph has gone on to star in movies like “Bridesmaids” and she’s currently in the Apple TV+ show “Loot,” where she plays a billionaire.
She’s returned to “SNL” several times, and she won an Emmy for portraying Harris, 59, in 2020 throughout that year’s presidential race. Despite claiming she hasn’t been approached by Lorne Michaels to return to Rockefeller Center, she appears game to play Harris again.
“I would never have believed you if you’d said one day you’re going to be playing the presidential candidate. To think that I had anything to do with this by association is mind-blowing,” Rudolph told RuPaul.
She added: “I spent so many years on ‘SNL’ watching other people play presidential candidates and thinking there’s no one that resembles me in the race. To think that we’re here now, and to think that I’d ever be close by association, is incredible.”
Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden announced his departure from the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris shortly thereafter.
The HBO satirical comedy “Veep” has gone viral and has reportedly seen a 353% surge in viewership numbers ever since.
In the show, Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was a senator who had an unsuccessful presidential bid. Her run ended with her becoming the running mate of the man who defeated her in the Democratic primary.
In Season 2 of “Veep,” it’s revealed that the president (who is never shown on screen) won’t run for reelection, and Selina decides to run.
While visiting “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Monday, Louis-Dreyfus said that Harris isn’t similar to her “Veep” character.
“Let me explain to you: On ‘Veep,’ I played a narcissistic, megalomaniac sociopath, and that is not Kamala Harris,” the former “Seinfeld” star, 63, said.
She added that that description might apply to “another candidate in the race.”
During San Diego Comic-Con, Louis-Dreyfus told Entertainment Weekly that the show’s recent surge in popularity was a “wild thing to witness. I’m delighted. I’m happy people are getting a kick out of it. And I know that Kamala Harris is — big time.”
Rudolph ended her interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by saying about her “SNL” return, “I mean, I don’t know. We’ll see!”
The landmark 50th season of “SNL” premieres Sept. 28 on NBC.