Ana Gasteyer Spotted Jimmy Carter Watching Dan Aykroyd’s Impression of Him on ‘SNL’

One of Ana Gasteyer’s most captivating moments on “Saturday Night Live” actually took place even before she joined the cast in 1996.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., Gasteyer was friends with Amy, the daughter of President Jimmy Carter. She was astonished when she found the president enjoying Dan Aykroyd’s impression of him during a sleepover at the White House when she was a young girl.

“We walked by and President Carter was watching ‘Saturday Night Live,’” she shared on TODAY with Jenna & Friends on February 11.

“It was around 1977, and he was watching Dan Aykroyd mimic him, laughing heartily all by himself. The first thing I remember is hearing him laugh, and then looking up and realizing,” she recounted.

During her time on “SNL,” Gasteyer portrayed figures like Martha Stewart and Celine Dion. She reflected on the late president, who passed away in December at the age of 100, describing him as “extraordinarily humble” and emphasized that impersonation carries significance beyond mere laughs.

“It is genuinely true that imitation is the highest form of flattery. I often mention, whether it’s Martha Stewart or Celine Dion or others, that there’s always a kernel of insight or a reflection on the significance of a person’s impact on society,” she explained.

“The fact that the president could find humor in an impression of himself really resonated with me. It was quite moving.”

Gasteyer has previously recounted the experience of witnessing Carter’s reaction to Aykroyd.

“He was laughing hysterically,” she told Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers on the “Las Culturistas” podcast last November, adding that the president was enjoying a beer and wearing a burgundy V-neck shirt.

Gasteyer, who referred to Carter as “the most amazing human being” noted for “incredible acts of humanity,” remarked that those moments have stayed with her.

“It’s indelibly imprinted in my mind, the surreal experience of observing someone dressed as this person, mimicking a figure who leads the free world,” she said.

Jenna resonated with this feeling, as her grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, was famously impersonated by Dana Carvey on “Saturday Night Live.”

“After my grandfather lost the 1992 election, he invited Dana Carvey, whom he admired, to the White House to lift the spirits of his staff who were feeling disappointed,” she recalled.