When Kristen Wiig took her final bow alongside musical guest Dua Lipa and actor Maya Rudolph on the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, she was wearing a “Vote Georgia” hoodie, presumably using her vast platform to encourage Georgia residents to cast their ballots in the Jan. 5 run-off election that will decide the state’s senators.
Moreover, the winners of the run-off races for Georgia’s two Senate seats will determine which party, the Republicans or the Democrats, will control the U.S. Senate.
Thank you Kristen Wiig, @DUALIPA, and @MayaRudolph!
Goodnight and happy holidays! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bs7zwgkjl3
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 20, 2020
On one side of the ballot, Rev. Raphael Warnock (Dem.) is in a run-off against Atlanta Dream co-owner-turned-Senate-appointee Kelly Loeffler (Rep.); on the other, Jon Ossoff (Dem.) is battling incumbent David Perdue (Rep.).
No matter the outcome on Jan. 5, however, WNBA players made an indelible mark on Warnock’s campaign by wearing “Vote Warnock” t-shirts before games and in media appearances. The action, in response to Loeffler’s opposition to the league’s support of the players’ social justice initiatives, revitalized Warnock’s campaign with infusions of attention and cash, pushing him to earn the most votes of the four candidates on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Although mainstream sports media is disinclined to recognize the majority 80%-Black women of the WNBA who spearheaded these initiatives, their contributions to spurring social change in 2020 are undeniable and, as the cheetah-dressed Wiig proves, far-reaching.
“Vote Georgia” apparel is officially-licensed by the WNBPA and proceeds benefit Rock the Vote and the NAACP.
Wiig debuts on Christmas Day as Barbara Minerva AKA Cheetah in the Patty Jenkins-directed film Wonder Woman 1984.
Further reading:
- Natasha Cloud: ‘We are the deciding people on who runs our country’
- WNBA players react to the Biden-Harris victory
- Natasha Cloud: ‘Vote like your life depends on it’