The 30 Rock star Tina Fey might be best known for her dead-on impression of Sarah Palin on 'Saturday Night Live' a spoof that, much to the irritation of the GOP, came to define John McCain's running mate during the 2008 campaign.
In Tina Fey's new memoir, 'Bossypants', Fey defends her impersonation of Sarah Palin against critics who say she unfairly exploited the former Alaska governor to boost ratings for her TV show, '30 Rock'.
Some may argue that, exploiting Governor Sarah Palin and her family helped bring attention to my low-rated TV show, Tina Fey writes, according to USA Today. I am proud to say you are wrong. My TV show still enjoys very low ratings.
Sarah Palin made light of the Fey's impression, In 2008, saying she was an admirer of the comedienne. Two weeks before Election Day, the then-VP candidate appeared on 'SNL' alongside Tina Fey and got in a dig at '30 Rock' and its low ratings.
Why couldn't we have done the '30 Rock' sketch that I wrote? Sarah Palin asked SNL creator Lorne Michaels in a back-stage sketch.
He replied, honestly, not enough people know that show.
In 2009, Sarah Palin reversed course and said she felt Fey had unfairly capitalized on her. Perhaps some exploiting was done via me and my family, she said. I did see that Tina Fey was named entertainer of the year. That's a little bit perplexing, but it also says a great deal about our society.
But Tina Fey, who won an Emmy for her Palin portrayal, says in her book that she thinks her impression of the ex-governor may actually have 'hurt' her TV show.
She writes, let's face it, between Alec Baldwin and me there is a certain fifty percent of the population who think we are pinko Commie monsters.
