Here’s What CCH Pounder Thinks of Dennis’ Perfect Impression of Her on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

Despite Dee’s assumptions, Dennis can absolutely do an impression of The Shield star CCH Pounder, but that doesn’t mean that Captain Claudette Wyms has to like it.

On It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it seems like the the stars and writers of the show often work backwards from one of their own obscure talents in real life to form the in-show bits. Obviously, Charlie Kelly’s savant-like ability to play the piano wouldn’t be possible if Charlie Day didn’t have a knack for the instrument, and Rob McElhenney must be a real-life black belt to pull off all the incredible karate moves that Mac uses in the series. But the most specific instance of the Gang figuring out a way to feature their real-life talents in a way that’s both hilarious and on-brand for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has to be when in the Season 11 finale “The Gang Goes to Hell: Part Two,” Dee challenges Dennis to do an accurate impression of a Black woman, picking the Emmy-nominated Pounder as his subject.

Of course, unlike Dee, Dennis has an incredible ability to voice shift and play characters distinctly different from himself, and he nails Pounder on the first try — or at least, that’s what Mac, Charlie and Frank thought of the performance. Pounder herself had a different assessment of the impression:

Now, to be fair to the 71-year-old veteran actress who is most famous for playing the no-nonsense police captain whose complex partnership with Detective Dutch Wagenbach formed the foundation of Dennis’ pitch-perfect impression, being uncomfortable with some other actor imitating you on a separate show is an entirely human response, and seeing a clip of it pop up every time you see a tweet about yourself must get tiring after the thousandth repost. But, I mean, if Pounder’s ambiguously icy reception over Howerton’s impression is because she thinks it was off-base, might I offer a counterpoint: