What? No Binders Full of Black Women? As a black female comedian I’ve been asked to comment on Kenan Thompson’s recent statement about why there are no black women in the cast of Saturday Night Live. Since no one is going to ask me about the government shut down, the debt ceiling, or why an entire season of the BBC show, Luther, is only four episodes long I will share my brief thoughts on Kenan. To be honest I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say besides: welcome to my world. I don’t want to fall into the trap of attacking Kenan for his comments. That would be too easy and would get us no closer to solving the problem. With the power, majesty, and magic that is the entertainment industry, if they wanted something, they would have it. So, I guess the real question is: can you find something you’re not really looking for? It is beyond ludicrous and insulting to think that there are no black female comedic actresses that are qualified to be on Saturday Night Live or any other primetime network show. (During World War II they said there were no qualified black pilots to fly military aircraft. Sound familiar?) But alas, maybe they’re right. Maybe black women aren’t funny because were too busy being angry about statements and conditions like this. Again, welcome to my world.
Lydia Paye-Johnson
10/18/2013 02:07:22 am
Well said. It's interesting that Keenan Thompson has been an "SNL" cast member for 10 year and is just speaking up. Perhaps he shouldn't have put on a dress in the 1st place!!! Also interesting that he made no mention about those parodies being disrespectful, especially since Keenan in no way shape or form came close to resembling Whoopi, Maya, Oprah et. al. Moreover, "SNL" has NEVER had a black comedic actress in its cast much less as a guest host. So Keenan's protest rings hollow.
Lydia
10/18/2013 12:33:16 pm
Thanks for reading and commenting here. I know we covered this on Facebook but I wanted to follow up here as well. It's quite telling that so few black women have been regular cast members on SNL that we think there have been none. For the record: Yvonne Hudson (1980-81), Danitra Vance (1985-86), Ellen Cleghorne (1991-95) and Maya Rudolph (2000-2007).
Donna Lewis
10/18/2013 04:51:13 am
Leighann,
Leighann Lord
10/18/2013 12:36:55 pm
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Donna. You have ALWAYS been in my corner. While I think Sherri's call to action is sincere, it misses the mark just a bit. This isn't about all black female comedians, improvers, sketch performers, and actresses converging on Saturday Night Live, (although that would make a powerful visual and statement). It's about making sure the ones who have the interest and talent get a fair shot. It's about equal opportunity and access.
Andre Payne
10/18/2013 05:36:42 am
Leighann - Good for you for not attacking Keenan and looking at the problem. I haven't seen a black female comedian on late night since Debra Wilson from MadTV was on.
Leighann Lord
10/18/2013 12:39:27 pm
Andre, Thanks. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the number of people attacking Kenan for his comments. I don't know the man and I'm not happy with what he said. But the gift is in the aftermath and what we do with it. Sadly our culture is too often entertained by the side show of personal attacks that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. Again, thanks.
Shane Thomas
10/21/2013 09:58:51 am
You've probably already seen it, but Nyima Funk's rejoinder to Thompson's comments was sublime.
Leighann Lord
10/24/2013 02:14:17 pm
Hi Shane, Yes, Nyima's vid was great! Thanks for shedding light on Luther. I think the show deserves a full 12 episode commitment, but I'm a big Idris Elba fan. I'd definitely see the movie. #lovehim
Shane Thomas
10/25/2013 05:49:22 am
At the risk of completely hijacking this comments section with a thread not germane to your post, a 12 episode run is extremely unlikely. There's a handful of shows that get that latitude (Doctor Who being a chief example), but in Britain, 6 episodes is roughly the standard length for a TV series.
Shane
10/26/2013 09:16:36 am
On the contrary. I'm enjoying the exchange and the information. It's much appreciated. I guess I enjoy Luther so much that I'd love to see it have a 12-episode arc (what it is here in the US, or used to be). It is amazing what they manage to get done in four - six. And of course I'm also a relatively new Doctor Who fan. I started with David Tenant and am still not sure about I feel about the "new" guy. :-) Comments are closed.
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