In response to criticism that it has never included enough black women in its cast, NBC’s late night stalwart, “Saturday Night Live,” has held showcases on both coasts in search of talented black women to feature on the show, reports blogger Jasmine Brand.

The issue first came to light in September, when SNL star Jay Pharaoh told TheGrio: “They need to pay attention. Her name is Darmirra Brunson…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.”

A few weeks later, another SNL star, Kenan Thompson, talked to TVGuide.com about the brewing controversy, saying, “It’s just a tough part of the business. Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready.” That comment wasn’t received well by the comedy community, particularly among people concerned about diversity.

On November 1, ColorofChange.org sent a letter to “SNL” Executive Producer Lorne Michaels, saying “frankly, we’re tired of this disrespect,” noting that the show “seems committed to aggressively continuing to push images of Black women as incompetent, rude, hypersexual and financially dependent.”

The Associated Press’ David Bauder followed up with Michaels, who said “It’s not like it’s not a priority for us. It will happen. I’m sure it will happen.”

The show demonstrated that it had a sense of humor about itself when “Scandal” star Kerry Washington, nominated for a Golden Globe on Thursday, appeared on the show on November 2, exhaustedly playing Michelle Obama, Oprah and Beyonce in rapid succession.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the showcases were held in Los Angeles and New York City on Dec. 1, with the expectations being that a black female cast member will be added as soon as January.

The L.A. showcase was held at The Groundlings Theater, and included such actresses as Misty Monroe, Amber Ruffin, Simone Shepherd, Tiffany Haddish, Nicole Byer, and Bresha Webb, who chatted with blogger Brand. Darmirra Brunson, who Pharaoh specifically mentioned, also auditioned, according to Brand.

Brief Take: While it’s clear that “SNL” needs to expand its diversity horizons, that same lesson is being learned by the rest of the industry, with diversity in primetime casting still an issue on most mainstream broadcast and cable networks.

Image courtesy of Bresha Webb via Instagram

Tags:


  Save as PDF