Debbie Downer

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

Dratch's character usually appears at social gatherings and interrupts 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. Dratch came up with the idea for the original sketch during an awkward vacation interaction in Costa Rica.

Evolving from the character's popularity, the name Debbie Downer eventually became an established slang phrase referring to a pessimistic person who frequently adds bad news and negative feelings to a gathering, thus bringing down the mood of everyone around them. The word downer had been used in this meaning since at least the 1970s. A Funko Pop collectable figure of the character was released in 2025.