Debbie Downer

Debbie Downer
Saturday Night Live character
also Jerry or Jeremy Bugaiow
First appearance	May 4, 2004
Last appearance	February 15, 2015
Portrayed by	Rachel Dratch
Information
Gender	Female

Debbie Downer is a name of a fictional Saturday Night Live character who debuted in 2004, and who was portrayed by Rachel Dratch.

The character's name, , is a slang phrase which refers to someone who frequently adds bad news and negative feelings to a gathering, thus bringing down the mood of everyone around them. Dratch's character would usually appear at social gatherings and interrupt the conversation to voice negative opinions and pronouncements. She is especially concerned about the rate of feline AIDS, a subject that she would bring up on more than one occasion, saying it was the number one killer of domestic cats.

The first appearance of Debbie Downer was on May 1, 2004, with guest host Lindsay Lohan. Debbie and five family members—played by Lohan, Jimmy Fallon, Dratch, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, and Horatio Sanz—are eating breakfast at a restaurant in Walt Disney World. While the family makes small talk, Debbie makes negative comments on current events followed by a knowing look at the camera and a cartoonish "wah-wah" sound made by a muted trombone.

In this sketch, everyone on camera (except for Armisen) cracked up because of both the "wah-wah" sound effect and Dratch flubbing her line early on and correcting herself. The sketch was listed at #99 as part of TV Land's "Top 100 Most Unexpected Moments in TV History."

Debbie Downer appeared in a sketch in the 2004-05 season opener with Ben Affleck as the guest host. The cast members who appeared in this sketch were more composed and did not laugh out loud at Debbie's pronouncements. This trend continued throughout the rest of the season.

In future airings of the Affleck episode, the live Debbie Downer sketch was replaced by the dress rehearsal version, along with an opening title card explaining that the dress rehearsal "worked better.". In dress, the cast all cracks up just as they did in the Lindsay Lohan episode.