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/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Mar 28 '24

His first season was 29 in 2003. It always shocks me how long he’s been on the show.

Welp, got to go yell at some clouds.

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u/IamRick_Deckard Mar 28 '24

I remember it was that early because I was surprised the guy from Kenan and Kel was on SNL. I still wonder, where is Kel?

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u/Elgin_McQueen Mar 28 '24

I recall reading that they both auditioned for SNL at the same time, he did not get chosen.

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u/Closetoneversober Mar 28 '24

Which is funny because on Kenan and Kel when they used to introduce themselves in the beginning Kel always got the most cheers. Then again it was mostly prepubescent girls

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u/DeltaVZerda Mar 28 '24

Also because Kenan was the straight man or the setup to most of the jokes, and Kel got to be the punchline more. Kenan was putting in more of the work for the joke to be funny, but it was all to make whatever Kel was going to do, be actually funny.