Saturday Night Live features all-black, all-female cast in secret showcase
Earlier this fall, Saturday Night Live came under fire for its cast’s lack of diversity, an issue Kenan Thompson blamed on black female comedians not being funny enough for the show.
In response to the uproar surrounding the issue, SNL creator Lorne Michaels held a secret showcase featuring no one but black women comedians.
One of the participants, Bresha Webb, spoke about her experience.
I can share that we all entered the groundlings theater backstage having no idea what to expect. I had no clue who was apart of the showcase. Of course my Comedianne friends (Tiffany Haddish, Beth Payne & Gabrielle Dennis) were there. And some talented ladies in sketch comedy were there that I had never met. We were all very supportive of each other and there was no sense of competition or pettiness. We were just happy that some new black women in comedy were being considered and given a shot. We even held hands prayed after the showcase. It was refreshing. The show was also sold out. It was packed to the max.
It looks like SNL is attempting to respond to the issue beyond a Kerry Washington sketch.
Do you think this showcase foreshadows a black woman or two as a castmember of SNL next season?
Sound off below!