Robert De Niro Loses His Patience — and Is Not Amused by a “Taxi Driver” Joke — in Rachel Dratch's “SNL ”50th Debbie Downer Sketch
"Deborah, I'm going to talk now and you're going to shut it," De Niro said with his patience wearing thin. "I do not appreciate this conversation. I don't want to talk about plastic in my balls"
"Deborah, I'm going to talk now and you're going to shut it," De Niro said with his patience wearing thin. "I do not appreciate this conversation. I don't want to talk about plastic in my balls":max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Robert-DeNiro-and-Rachel-Dratch-from-the-Debbie-Downer-sketch-during-SNL-50-021625-d80e65d10d434a20b7c4bc1f0c38186e.jpg "Robert DeNiro and Rachel Dratch from the Debbie Downer sketch during SNL 50")
Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer is on thin ice with Robert De Niro!
During the SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Feb. 16, Dratch, 58, reprised her iconic character, Debbie Downer, for a sketch and found herself on the outs with the legendary actor, 81, while working as a bartender.
After saying hello to Jimmy Fallon and Ayo Edebiri and fending off Drew Barrymore, De Niro tried to order a vodka soda with a straw from Debbie, who hit him with a reference to his famed role in Taxi Driver, when she asked, "You talking to me? You talking to me?"
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" De Niro asked unamused, to which Debbie replied, "No, I'm asking. I have dry eye, and it's hard to discern if you were talking to me."
The actor eventually waved it off, and Debbie handed him a drink with a straw.
As he stirred his cocktail, she quipped, "Kind of surprised you want a straw. Micro plastics, at this point, we're all walking landfills. They've already taken up residence in your testes."
"Deborah, I'm going to talk now and you're going to shut it," De Niro said, patience wearing thin. "I do not appreciate this conversation. I don't want to talk about plastic in my balls. I want to laugh and feel joy and have a sliver of hope for three goddamn hours of my life. That's all I want. I came here tonight to get a little freaking break from our world right now, which is like living in a full diaper."
Related: Go Behind the Scenes at SNL 50th Special's Red Carpet: See PEOPLE's Exclusive Photos
When Debbie replied, "Diapers are leading culprit in the micro plastic saga," De Niro reached over the counter and attempted to strangle her before Fallon stopped things from going further.
After things calmed down, the actor suggested everyone join him in a toast — including Debbie, who poured a bottle of vanilla Ensure into a glass.
"To friendship and 50 years!" the group cheered before Debbie added, "And to continuing advances in curing feline AIDS. It's the number one killer of domestic cats."
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SNL50: The Anniversary Special airs Sunday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
