You Need To Watch Kate McKinnon Nail Her Eleven From Stranger Things Impression

Going in between the two major parts of the E! red carpet is usually one of the most boring rituals of the fashion-filled TV tradition. Television veteran Giuliana Rancic consistently “tosses” to her co-worker Jason Kennedy, who is somewhere else on the physical awards show red carpet, for his own celebrity interview. He subsequently throws back to “G” later in the show. It’s a star-studded game of Hot Potato, and it’s a miracle no one falls asleep during all the designer name-dropping interviews and cutesy, forced banter. After years of the tedious back-and-forth, Kate McKinnon finally spiced up the cable news custom with a perfect impression of our favorite Netflix heroine, Stranger Things’ Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

The moment arrived when Kennedy asked to put McKinnon on the spot to “toss as Eleven,” and the Saturday Night Live star was more than game for the challenge. The Saturday Night Live star was more than game for the challenge. The NBC queen, who’s nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy award tonight, obliged with the perfect Eleven-approved scowl and wide-eyed stare you need to see to believe. The moment was so intense, interviewer Kennedy didn’t know what to do with himself, staring at McKinnon’s grimace and yelling, “That’s it! That’s it. That’s you, Giuliana.”

This wasn’t the first time McKinnon has done her impression of Stranger Things’ leading lady. The SNL lead previously appeared as Eleven in an October 2016 Saturday Night Live episode, which was hosted by Lin Manuel Miranda. “Who is this little creepy wood dude?!” Leslie Jones asked during the sketch as Lucas Sinclair’s faux mom. In response, McKinnon breathed heavily in the corner while wearing a collared pink dress, denim jacket, and super-short buzz cut wig, as her inspiration is like to do. In traditional Eleven fashion, the tween character’s nose began bleeding in the middle of her fictionalized SNL cameo. The only match for Eleven’s psychic powers in that instance was Jones as Lucas’ mom, as the young woman told fake Mike Wheeler (Kyle Mooney), Lucas’ mother just “really scared [her],” forcing her to drop her powers.

Yes, an annoyed Leslie Jones is apparently scarier than a demogorgon.