Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson is facing criticism after he said the show's lack of diversity was due to the shortage of black female comedians who are "ready" to join the cast, instead of questioning the show's producers or the casting process.
"It's just a tough part of the business. Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready," Thompson told TV Guide in article published on Monday.
SNL added six new cast members this year, who are all white. The show currently has two male black members, Thompson and Jay Pharoah, and an Iranian-American comedian, Nasim Pedrad, who joined in 2009.
Thompson pinning the issue on a lack of SNL-"ready" female black comedians inspired a stream of outrage on Twitter under Tuesday's trending hashtag #SNL.
In the tweets embedded below viewers name black female comedians they think are ready, including Aisha Tyler who, in the last tweet, calls Thompson "dumb." Additionally, when discussing the show's lack of diversity, Pharoah recently suggested that SNL hire Darmirra Brunson, in an interview with MSNBC's The Grio.
When TV Guide asked Thompson who on SNL would portray prominent black female celebrities, he said: "I don't know. We just haven't done them. That's what I'm saying. Maybe [Pharaoh] will do it or something, but even he doesn't really want to do it."
What Kenan says here about black women comics is foolish. The focus should still be on his #SNL bosses, though. http://t.co/fY0CBqGOyH
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 15, 2013
that comment #kenan made about black women not being good enough for #snl was uncalled for and disgusting! kenan remember where you started!
— meme (@memec23) October 15, 2013
bullet. MT @rustymk2: Kenan says y'all Black women ain't funny enough for #SNL...I speak to Black women on here every day funnier than him.
— Brokey McPoverty (@brokeymcpoverty) October 15, 2013
#SNL would be lucky to cast @aishatyler @curlycomedy @msjwilly #DebraWilson @IssaRae @iamwandasykes @WhoopiGoldberg or @LoniLove #Kenan — Gefilte Cat (@ChaimSBI) October 15, 2013
"@LBeesKnees:Dying to know what you think: @Salon Kenan Thompson's explains SNL's lack of diversity http://t.co/LSkWQKdynS" yeah he's dumb.
— Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) October 15, 2013
To date SNL has cast only four black female comedians, including Maya Rudolph, who left the show in 2007.
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Image: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Hulu
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