Which Rachel Dratch character repeatedly delivered bad news in an SNL sketch?

The Rachel Dratch character who repeatedly delivered bad news was Debbie Downer.

Debbie Downer is an SNL character who appears at social gatherings and abruptly introduces gloomy facts, warnings, or personal observations. Her pessimism repeatedly deflates otherwise cheerful situations, creating the comic contrast behind the character’s name. She is especially associated with claims about feline AIDS being the leading killer of domestic cats.

Rachel Dratch created and portrayed Debbie Downer with writer Paula Pell. The character debuted on May 1, 2004, and quickly became one of Dratch’s best-known SNL roles. Dratch has said the idea grew from an awkward vacation interaction in Costa Rica, where someone repeatedly interrupted conversation with unsettling information.

The phrase “Debbie Downer” later entered everyday English as a label for someone who brings negative news or gloomy energy into a gathering. That slang meaning is broader than the original sketch, but it preserves the character’s central joke. Debbie Downer should not be confused with Linda Richman, Pat, or Mary Katherine Gallagher, all recurring SNL figures played by different performers and built around different comic premises.