Spirit Halloween Claps Back At SNL, Reveals New Costume For 'Irrelevant 50-Year-Old TV Show'

By Ryan Schwartz
'SNL' Spirit Halloween Sketch Video NBC screenshot (inset: Spirit Halloween)

Tell us you can't take a joke without telling us you can't take a joke.

After a gentle ribbing by Saturday Night Live, Spirit Halloween has come out swinging against the late-night sketch series with a new costume for an "irrelevant 50-year-old TV show."

The sketch that triggered the seasonal retailer aired as part of SNL's milestone Season 50 premiere. The commercial parody showed Spirit set up shop in a vacant K-Mart, where it would remain for six weeks before "bouncing."

An employee played by Chloe Fineman offered the following mission statement on behalf of Spirit: "We're here providing vulnerable communities with the things they need most: Wigs that give you a rash, single-use fog machines, and costumes of famous characters tweaked just enough to avoid a lawsuit."

In response, Spirit Halloween offered the following rebuttal: "We are great at raising things back from the dead," the retail chain wrote on X, along with a photo of a costume for an "irrelevant 50-year-old TV show" which comes with "dated references," "unknown cast members" and "shrinking ratings."

Unfortunately for Spirit, a whole lot of people watched SNL's fake ad. The Sept. 28 season opener — with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll — was seen by 5.3 million viewers, marking the series' highest-rated premiere in four years. The episode earned a TVLine reader grade of "B."

Recommended