In 2013, when Kenan Thompson was one of two Black cast members in Saturday Night Live, he gave an interview in which he was asked about the lack of black women in the program. He was quoted, in part, as saying, “As at auditions, they never find those that are ready.”
The way he appeared – that black women are not funny – still bothers him today.
“I was responding based on the knowledge I had and yet it was written was not what I said … This is what I realized, basically, and it is because of these things and blah, blah, blah. taken as it is, ‘Oh, you don’t think black women are funny.’ And that’s notorious, “said Thompson in Monday’s podcast episode Jemele Hill doesn’t mind. “Why would I take my sisters down like that? My queens. Why would I do something so crazy and drastic, like, just out of my mouth, saying that black women aren’t funny?”
Thompson said that up to that point, he never resented the fact that these questions were often asked of him and not of people with the real power to change the cast. But he said his feelings were really hurt. It affected how people saw him before they even met him.
It happened when Leslie Jones, a rare black member of the cast, joined the show in 2014.
“People distorted my words or something,” said Thompson, describing the first day he met Jones and the new cast members. “So I saw her, like, looking me up and down, assessing me … just, like, trying to check me out, ‘Did you really say that shitty shit or whatever?’ and I say, ‘No,’ to the eyes, and in two seconds, we just [were], like, kicking and just having fun laughing. Every day we kicked and laughed. “
Jones’ dressing room was next door to Thompson’s and she “just became my sister,” he said. “She knew that this is not my heart and, unfortunately, the whole message was distorted, but the result is that she ended up entering the program and did a great job. And now the world knows on a larger scale how great it is. “
Jones left the skit show in 2019, one of the many cast members that Thompson has seen come and go since he joined in 2003. Currently, he SNLis the oldest cast member of all time, which he said is difficult to understand, especially since he hoped to go on his own project years ago. Finally, after several attempts at development, your sitcom, Kenan, opens on February 16. But he changed his mind and now plans to stay at 30 Rock, at least for now.
“As long as my wife doesn’t get too upset about all the travel or coming and going or isn’t home enough, I would like to continue working, man,” said Thompson. “It is not so much. burden on me like that. Like, I’ve been doing this for so long, like, I know how it works. So, the challenge is kind of with myself, as much as I want to, you know, give or try to create new things and things like that. But when it comes to jumping and everyone kind of has things for me to do, I can do it in my sleep. So, I would love to reach 20 [seasons], I think that. Do you know what I mean? It’s so close, and that’s a nice number. “
He joked that he could change his mind “if people start, you know, throwing millions and billions of dollars at me.”
Thompson also spoke about the most impressive hosts in the SNL over the years: “Come in [Tom] Hanks and Dave [Chappelle] and Eddie [Murphy], I would say.”
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