Advertisement

'SNL' tackles race issues with Virginia politician, Liam Neeson, Gucci jokes

By Karen Butler
Left to right, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Halsey, Alex Moffat and Beck Bennett as Virginia state officials during a sketch on "Saturday Night Live." Photo by Will Heath/NBC
Left to right, Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Halsey, Alex Moffat and Beck Bennett as Virginia state officials during a sketch on "Saturday Night Live." Photo by Will Heath/NBC

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- This weekend's edition of Saturday Night Live mocked Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, who admitted they wore blackface as part of costumes years earlier.

Despite calls to resign, both officials have refused to step down.

Advertisement

"Making jokes about the news can get a little redundant for me, but every so often you see a governor in blackface and I'm like, 'This will be fun,'" Michael Che said at the top of the SNL's "Weekend Update" segment.

He added: "First, the governor admitted to wearing blackface in college for a Michael Jackson costume. By the way, making it the least accurate Michael Jackson costume possible. That would be crazy enough, but then the attorney general was like: 'You too? Blackface is my jam!' And then Liam Neeson was like: 'Blackface? Hold my beer. I've never brought this up ever before, but I was trying to kill a black dude with a baseball bat. Anyhow, so my movie comes out Friday...'"

Advertisement

Che went on to mention rapper 21 Savage was recently detained by immigration officials because he was born in the United Kingdom, came to the United States as a child and allegedly overstayed his visa.

Che said the discovery that the musician wasn't from Georgia as most people believed "is kind of like finding out Adele is from Atlanta."

"21, actually, had to leave the U.K. as kid, probably, because crazy-ass Liam Neeson was looking for black dudes with baseball bats," Che said.

Neeson ignited a media firestorm last week when he recalled in an Independent newspaper interview how he decades earlier had wanted to kill a random black man in Northern Ireland in retaliation for the rape of a friend by a black stranger.

He said in the interview he knew the violent thoughts were wrong and they had plagued him for years, but the remarks were widely met with shock and condemnation.

Neeson later insisted on Good Morning America that he is not racist.

Noting Virginia's Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is facing sexual assault allegations, "Weekend Update" co-host Colin Jost suggested Virginia might want to take a cue from this year's hostless Oscars ceremony and go without a governor.

Advertisement

"Or they could just come full circle and make it Gov. Kevin Hart," Jost said, referring to the comedian who dropped out of hosting the Oscars due to a backlash over homophobic jokes he made nearly a decade ago.

Che also mentioned how Gucci apologized for offending people and pulled from sales racks a black sweater with a neck that, when pulled up, covered a Caucasian model's face up to the eyes. The stitching around the mouth looks like exaggerated red lips.

"I don't even want an apology. I'm way more interested in the racist journey," Che laughed.

The show addressed as well the issue of blackface in a sketch in which Kenan Thompson plays the African-American chairman of the Virginia state ethics committee, who questions a group of Caucasian officials about whether there are photos of any of them wearing blackface.

They all admit to having done this, leading Thompson to explain to them why this is an offensive practice, but they don't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"It was never funny or cool," Thompson said, telling them in no uncertain terms, "No more blackface!"

Advertisement

"I'm going to take a two-week lunch before I lose my damn mind. I advise you all to delete any Facebook photo labeled 'Halloween' and hope for the best," Thompson said.

Latest Headlines