Kenan Thompson who is an actor on the show "Saturday Night Live" says that he will not play female characters because the show hasn't hired a black woman to join the cast in six years. Thompson regularly plays characters like Whoopi Goldberg on the show and said that the shows only other black member may start playing more women, "but even he doesn't really want to do it."
Thompson said to TV Guide that he believes a part of the problem is that there is a lack of black female comedians.
"It's just a tough part of the business," Thompson said. "Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready."
SNL has been on the air for nearly forty years and over that many years there have been a total of four black women on its cast: Yvonne Hudson, Danitra Vance, Ellen Cleghorne and Maya Rudolph. In 2007, Rudolph left the show and there has not been another female of color added to the roster since.
Thompson and Jay Pharoah are the only two black castmembers on the show.
"In the wake of the scandal, SNL made a conspicuously timed announcement: Kerry Washington, the black star of hit show Scandal, will host the show in November," reported The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail reported that over the past ninety episodes four women of color have been hosts on the show.
Pharoah added, "They need to pay attention." He said that he thinks black actress Damirra Brunson should be considered for the show. "Why do I think she should be on the show? Because she's black first of all, and she's really talented. She's amazing. She needs to be on SNL. I said it. And I believe they need to follow up with it like they said they were going to do last year."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
