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Denver Zoo Reassures 'Danny Bangs' The 'Pornographer' Is Not A Real Employee

By Kelly Werthmann

DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Zoo is gaining national attention, and not just for its newest animal addition.

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" took direct aim at Colorado this weekend in a spoof of local morning news.

"It's 7 a.m. in Denver on this beautiful sunny day," SNL actress Cecily Strong said portraying a news anchor of "Good Day Denver" alongside actor Bobby Moynihan.

National headlines have featured the surprise birth of a giraffe, Dobby, at Denver Zoo. Naturally, SNL created a skit featuring actress Scarlett Johansson as a local reporter at the zoo.

"It's a real zoo here and, for once, I'm not talking about the I-25," Johansson joked.

The five-minute skit didn't directly mention baby Dobby. Instead, it focused on a series of adult-themed innuendos surrounding a wildlife photographer named Danny Bangs. Instead of animal photographer, Bangs is mistakenly titled "animal pornographer."

"Just jumping in real quick to let viewers know that our graphic is incorrect," Moynihan said.

"We're going to get that fixed ASAP. Why don't you guys wake up back there?" he jokingly said to the behind-the-scenes news crew.

The skit is gaining a lot of attention online with thousands of views on YouTube just hours after airing. Even the real Denver Zoo responded to it by sharing a tweet Sunday morning.

"Lots of chatter about the portrayal of Denver Zoo on SNL last night. Just want to reassure you all, Danny Bangs is not a DZ employee," the zoo's tweet said.

LINK: Denver Zoo

Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now anchors CBS4 Weekend Morning News and reports during the week. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.

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