Laura Benanti Hilariously Spoofs Melania Trump's RNC Speech on 'The Late Show': 'In West Philadelphia, Born an
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? On Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert addressed the top news story of the day on The Late Show. The politically-conscious host brought up the controversy surrounding Melania Trump’s seemingly plagiarized RNC speech.
“If only there was someone in the Trump campaign who enjoyed firing people,” Colbert teased of the former Celebrity Apprentice host.
WATCH: Melania Trump Plagiarism Accusations Dismissed by Trump Campaign
He then brought out his “friend” Melania, who was portrayed by an eerily similar-looking Laura Benanti.
The theater and TV star began her new speech with the classic opening line from A Tale of Two Cities, “This is truly the best of times. It is the worst of times.”
She went on to insist that she had not plagiarized Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech, saying, “I would not could not with a goat. I would not could not on a boat.”
“Melania” then took some cues from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, saying, “That is because I learned honesty during my humble upbringing, in West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spend most of my days.”
As the speech continued, Mrs. Trump got more and more impassioned, shouting out the iconic Braveheart line, “They may take our lives but they will never take our freedom!” and the legendary Network quote, “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!”
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She tried to conclude with a “Live, from New York, it’s…” but Colbert cut her off, and the intro music to The Late Show played instead.
Following the real Melania’s speech on Monday night, the Trump campaign denied allegations of plagiarism.
"There's no cribbing of Michelle Obama's speech. These were common words and values that she cares about, her family, things like that," campaign chairman Paul Manafort said on CNN's New Day. "She was speaking in front of 35 million people, she knew that, to think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy."
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