‘Saturday Night Live’ Reimagines History With Battle Of The Sexes Tennis Match Before Billie Jean King Beat Bobby Riggs
deadline.comBefore Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs, there was another Battle of the Sexes. At least, that’s what happened in Saturday Night Live‘s revisionist history.
In the vein of Netflix’s Untold series, the November 18 sketch tells the story of another tennis matchup between female player Charna Lee Diamond and male opponent Ronnie Dunster (played by host Jason Momoa). “There’d be no Billie without Charna,” one sports journalist ponders. “There just wouldn’t be.” Once they take the court, it doesn’t take long for things to go awry.
Ronnie serves the ball, sending it flying straight through Charna’s abdomen. Literally. There is now a hole in her stomach. Adrenaline keeps her going, and she demands Ronnie serve the ball again.
He’s reluctant, but Charna insists. It’s for women, after all! So, he serves the ball once more. Only this time, it decapitates her. “We should have seen it coming,” the sports journalist admits. “He was 300 pounds of pure muscle, and she was one of the lowest ranked female players at the time.” Adds Ronnie himself: “It was definitely the f*cking weirdest game of tennis I’ve ever played.” Despite her gruesome downfall, Charna still paved the way for female players, according to SNL.
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