(ThyBlackMan.com) Responding to the controversy about the network not having a single black female actress on the show, Saturday Night Live did what they do best: Made a parody of it all. The skit featured Kerry Washington and made jokes about how she would have to play every single black female cast member on the show.
The skit starts with Washington playing Michelle Obama. During a conversation with her husband Barack (played by Jay Pharoah), it is revealed that the couple is going to receive a visit from Oprah Winfrey. That’s when Washington realizes that she needs to leave the room so that she can “become” Oprah. After that, Beyonce is set to arrive and Washington rushes out of the room to play her as well.
The show then goes on to apologize in advance to Washington for the wide range of black female characters she is going to have to play during the show. At the end, Rev. Al Sharpton appears, stating that nothing has been learned from the skit. He then breaks into the iconic phrase, “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!”
So, SNL has secured the help of Rev. Al Sharpton and Kerry Washington to produce a very funny skit about it’s lack of black female characters. But the real question is: Are they going to do something about it?
The skit can certainly be seen as a good first step by the network to acknowledge it’s severe lack of diversity. There are thousands of talented black women across the country, many of them well-trained, who’ve never received a chance to be on NBC’s biggest stage. Throughout it’s 38-year history, SNL has hired only four black women. Two of these women were only on the show for one season or less.
To imply that every female comedian on the planet is not talented enough or not prepared for SNL auditions is one of the most insulting conclusions imaginable. Women such as Tiara Williams and Issa Rae have been successful at creating their own platforms, largely because networks like SNL almost never give them a chance.
I would expect (and hope) that this skit, which is very funny by the way, is a precursor to taking substantive action on this important matter. As a long-time fan of the show, I speculate that the network is sending a message that it has noted the problem and plans on rectifying it in the near future. If that’s the case, then I give myself permission to laugh.
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Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.