'Key & Peele' Stars Recall Witnessing Obama Fake His Own Poisoning Death

2:05 PM PDT 7/27/2012 by Etan Vlessing

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Accepting their Breakout Comedy Stars of the Year award at the Just For Laughs festival, the Comedy Central duo describe how the president pretended to keel over after drinking some water offered to him by an aide.

MONTREAL -- Comedy Central’s Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele on Friday recalled the moment they witnessed President Barack Obama feign being poisoned for a laugh.

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“We did meet the President a few weeks ago and got to see him doing one of his YouTube weekly addresses, and we didn’t know how funny he was,” Peele, one half of the sketch series Key & Peele told a Just For Laughs audience when accepting the breakout comedy stars of the year trophy at an awards luncheon.

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With Key and Peele looking on during the June 1 visit to the White House, Obama was delivering his lines for the weekly address video when suddenly he stopped to clear his throat.

Peele recounted the President looking over to a young woman helping produce the weekly taping, and a bottle of water at her side.

“So he (Obama) looks to the Secret Service and asks 'can we can trust her, can I use some of this water?' Peele added, doing an Obama impersonation that earned the sketch comedy duo two thumbs up and an invitation to the Oval Office.

After the President didn’t get a peep from the Secret Service personnel, he took a sip of the water.

“So she gives him the bottle of water and my man goes like this, ‘so we need to…,’" before Peele abruptly slouched over and put his head on his chest to recall how U.S. President feigned he’d just been poisoned, before Obama straightened up with a big grin across his face.

The recent White House visit was preceded by the President appearing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and applauding Peele and Key’s sketch “Obama Loses His Shit,” where they send up the U.S. leader’s normally unflappable demeanor.

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“They've got a guy who imitates me pretty well," Obama told Fallon.

Other award winners in Montreal Friday included Chelsea Handler being named comedy person of the year, and Seth MacFarlane taking the trophy for comedy director of the year for Ted.