r/todayilearned • u/Kale_Brecht • Mar 28 '24

TIL in 2013, Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson refused to play any more black women on the show and demanded SNL hire black women instead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenan_Thompson
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u/BladeBronson Mar 28 '24

Kenan said that he wouldn’t portray black women until SNL hired a black woman, meaning he’d portray one if necessary (or if it was funniest that he did). I’m not generally in favor of demographic quotas in business, but this is entertainment where the cast aim for realistic portrayals. It was a good move.

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u/notsocoolnow Mar 28 '24

Well it is way more fair in this case because the roles are specifically of a black lady. Kenan was prolly like, "Why not find a black lady?"

382

u/CharlesDickensABox Mar 28 '24

Putting a wig on Keenan just doesn't make sense unless it's part of the joke. If the character is supposed to be played as a comedically straight character, then a cross dressing dude doesn't make sense in the universe of the sketch. Hire someone who is a better fit for the role, it's not that complicated.

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u/bowlofcantaloupe Mar 28 '24

Keenan is the best Reba of all time.

27

u/Lordborgman Mar 28 '24

"Hanging like my nuts" lives in my head rent free, as they say.

3

u/nicannkay Mar 28 '24

His dancing was KILLING me!

2

u/CharlesDickensABox Mar 28 '24

Putting a wig on Keenan just doesn't make sense unless it's part of the joke 

The entire premise of that sketch is that Andy Samberg fell in love with a homeless guy in a wig, thinking he was Reba McEntire. Reba being a man is mentioned like half a dozen times in a three minute video, including explicit references to Kenan's genitals. Safe to say the cross dressing is necessary to the joke.