America’s misguided affection for former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was on full display Sunday night as the man who formerly dodged and denied facts rolled onto the Emmys stage on a mechanical lectern, prepared to laugh alongside all of us at those six months he enraged and entertained the American public.

But here’s the thing: that’s not how this works.

As a former White House representative, Spicer lied or misled the American people on a near-daily basis for months. His false statements ring out like the greatest hits album of everyone’s least favorite band. Remember “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period?” How about “Holocaust Center?”

If you do, you’re probably wondering how we got here with Spicer using one of the year’s biggest awards shows as a launch pad to gradual acceptance in the American media.

During his brief tenure, Spicer often sparred with reporters about the daily Trump administration crises. His impassioned (frequently inaccurate) responses, former occupation as White House Easter Bunny and tendency to hide from reporters in bushes made him an instant meme. Clips of the White House press secretary circulated around social media spurring laughter and outrage in equal measures, and “What did Spicer do today?” was a daily topic of conversation well into the summer.

It helped that Spicer wore his shame on his sleeve on occasion, laughing alongside reporters as he attempted to fill in the logical gaps on issues such as Trump’s sudden embrace of positive jobs numbers, the same numbers he’d criticized before entering office. Since Sarah Huckabee Sanders fulfilled the press secretary role, it simply hasn’t been the same.

But it was Melissa McCarthy’s excellent Saturday Night Live impression that made Spicer a star and has contributed to the fondness he’s received since his resignation. McCarthy brought humor and liveliness to a man characterized by none. She developed a personality that sometimes accurately and sometimes hyperbolically portrayed the White House press secretary, conveying the brilliantly uncomfortable humor all good satire is known for.

The impression — alongside the disturbingly precise portrayal of President Donald Trump by Alec Baldwin — gave SNL its best ratings since 2011. Needless to say, McCarthy’s Spicer was an instant classic. Will anyone ever forget McCarthy as Spicer rolling through Manhattan to a moody Simon and Garfunkel song contemplating whether or not President Trump would lie to him? It’s the stuff comedy was made for. McCarthy’s impression effectively humanized Spicer. Now here we are, with the disparaged press secretary kicking off the first lap of his hopeful redemption tour.

But Spicer has given us little reason to offer him the benefit of the doubt, and an uncomfortable Emmys cameo is a poor start. His appearance didn’t even mesh well with the high-stakes political atmosphere of the awards show. It, in many ways, negated what would otherwise have been biting satire of the Trump administration in the ceremony’s opening song and dance number and throughout other key points of the show.

Since the show, Spicer has interviewed with The New York Times, walking back some of his more ridiculous claims, like his opening defense of Trump’s inaugural crowd. It’s clear what’s going on here, and we shouldn’t let it happen.

Spicer’s hopeful path to acceptance in the echelons of the American media isn’t quite unprecedented. We’ve already seen ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci (whose Spicer’s resignation was in protest of) hit the cable news networks and strive for likability on the late-night circuit. Spicer has taken a similar path, it seems, and it’s up to us to offer him the validation he ostensibly expects or condemn him for his unacceptable treatment of the facts during his tenure as press secretary.

A funny SNL impression and a sense of shame doesn’t absolve Spicer of his tenure at the White House. The White House press secretary is a vital source of communication between the president and the American people. Spicer let it become a joke. Let’s not let him in on it.