NBC No doubt the most memorable sketch during Nov. 2's Saturday Night Live was its opening one.
After all, it was during those first few minutes of the show that host Kerry Washington , and in turn, the program itself, poked fun at the lack of African-American women in the SNL cast.
"It had to be addressed," cast member Bobby Moynihan told E! News at Sunday's New York City premiere of the upcoming film Delivery Man.
During the Oval Office sketch, Washington appeared as Michelle Obama before exiting the scene and returning as Oprah Winfrey .
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While Washington was off-camera changing into her Winfrey wig and outfit, the following message was read and shown on the screen:
"The producers of Saturday Night Live would like to apologize to Kerry Washington for the number of black women she will be asked to play tonight. We made these requests both because Ms. Washington is an actress of considerable talent and also because SNL does not currently have a black woman in the cast. As for the latter reason, we agree this is not an ideal situation and look forward to rectifying it in the near future. Unless of course, we fall in love with another white guy first."
After appearing as Winfrey, Washington was then asked by a White House aide (Taran Killam) to depart because Beyoncé was waiting, to which the Scandal star drew the line.
Recently, Kenan Thompson touched upon the fact that there hasn't been a black female comedian in the cast since Maya Rudolph left in 2007, telling TV Guide , "It's just a tough part of the business. Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready."
Before the current 39th season started last month, SNL added six new featured players who are all white.
"They're all contributing in different ways I think," Thompson said. "They've been doing a great job so far. They're all very, very smart and talented, so that's how it is. That's the kind of people I guess that get the job."
(E! and Saturday Night Live are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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