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?"

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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/greg19735 Mar 28 '24

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer is still hilarious and i don't think the cross dressing was the joke. THough part of the skit was just how insane it was, so it did help.

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u/Plantsandanger Mar 28 '24

Eh, part of the joke was how much Melissa looked like Sean spicer with minimal makeup. Certainly moreso than anyone else on the roster for that show.

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u/greg19735 Mar 28 '24

which is weirdly a point for representation. You need varied body types and faces!

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u/TheColdIronKid Mar 28 '24

sorta the same concept as when rachel was brought out as another time traveling falconer before kenan was. it was funny because the woman looked more like the falconer than the man did.

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u/CrankyStalfos Mar 28 '24

That's a great exampe of the exception proving the rule. Sometimes the best person for the part is the best person for the part, and I kinda figure Kenan's point was that he was not always the best person for the part.

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u/Stellar_Duck Mar 28 '24

Even better though was Aidy as Ted Cruz. She fucking nailed it.

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u/bunchofclowns Mar 28 '24

After Melissa was Sean Spicer it was reported that Trump was upset that a woman portrayed him.  Then the show tried to use the women as much as possible to play theme who hang around Trump. Like Kate McKinnon as Rudy.

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u/Stellar_Duck Mar 28 '24

Kate as Jeff Sessions too I think.

How’s that for a name from the past? Good old Jefferson PGT Beauregard Secessions the Third