In a rare case of the left criticizing the left, The Huffington Post slammed Saturday Night Live for its apparent racist history, noting the lack of diversity in the show’s staff in a piece titled “SNL’s Unfunny Race Problem.”
Above a graphic delineating the lack of color in the show’s history, writer Youyoung Lee wrote:
Earlier this month, “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels appeared to address his comedy show’s mounting race problem by hiring the first black female cast member in seven years. But the talented Sasheer Zamata’s arrival doesn’t diminish the show’s unfunny lack of diversity in its 38-year run–especially when it comes to minority women.
The graphic below Lee’s comment revealed some racist and gender-central facts about SNL:
1. Garrett Morris, the first black regular on the show and an original cast member in 1975, left in 1980 because he felt typecast.
2. Yvonne Hudson, the first black female on the show, never was more than a featured player.
3. Danitra Vance was the first black repertory member, but she could have been much more significant because she kept her lesbianism private.
4. 1987-1989 was the “whitest” era of the show.
5. Chris Rock left in 1993 because he was playing, according to HuffPost, “token black parts.”
6. There has never been a cast member who identifies as Asian-American.
7. There has never been a Latina cast member.
8. 2003 had the most non-white cast members.
9. Kate McKinnon, a featured player in 2012, was the first openly lesbian cast member.
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