Saturday Night Live has boasted many talented players over the years, players who have escalated past the ranks of late night sketch comedy into A-List stardom. SNL has launched the careers of talented actors such as: Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Mike Meyers, Gilda Radner, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler, to name a few. There are many people with fond memories of Roseanne Rosannadanna, Church Lady, Wayne and Garth, It’s Pat, the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers, Linda Richman, this list could go on and on.
While SNL has had some incredibly funny players and skits, the one biggest accomplishment they have been noted for as of late is their lack of diversity. While the cast originally began with a bit of diversity by including funnyman Garrett Morris who is more known for The Jamie Foxx Show, their diversity plan fell short quickly thereafter. Over the years SNL employed a total of 4 black women, including Ellen Cleghorne and Maya Rudolph, who can visually pass as either black or white. While some think that SNL Producer, Lorne Michaels, should consider looking into different venues like online web series, there’s Kenan Thompson who says that the problem lies at black comedian’s feet.
Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready.
While the show has dipped its toe into the diversity pool by hiring Chilean Horation Sanz and Iranian-American Nasim Pedrad, it’s still miles upon miles away from ever being considered diverse. SNL is definitely not alone in its lack of diversity. Mainstream media continually lacks in being diversified in any way, shape, or form. Most television shows do not represent America and its diversity, there are few Asian, Hispanic, etc. races being represented in shows that are supposed to be taking place in popular, multi-cultural cities. The series Friends that took place in New York, rarely ever featured anything other than Caucasian, this can also be said about 90 percent of the shows featured on mainstream channels.
While Kenan Thompson has decided to begin controversy over his statements during his interview, castmate Jay Pharoah has decided to join him with inflammatory remarks dressed up as promoting a black actress.
They need to pay attention. Her name is Darmirra Brunson … Why do I think she should be on the show? Because she’s black first of all, and she’s really talented. She’s amazing. She needs to be on SNL. I said it. And I believe they need to follow up with it like they said they were going to do last year …
With the lack of racially diverse female characters, it has been the men’s duty to portray the relevant female personas current to society. If SNL continues with its blatant disregard to talent from other races, I fear that blackface will soon be in their future, which is never funny, even by SNL standards.
Edited by Kyla Ballard
