Last month, in the midst of discussion over its racially homogeneous cast, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” confirmed that Kerry Washington, the black female star of ABC’s “Scandal,” would host an upcoming episode.
That episode aired Saturday, and in the very first sketch, “SNL” made clear its willingness to address the controversy.
Making for one of the show’s most buzzworthy cold opens in recent memory, the segment celebrated the opportunity created by Washington’s appearance on the show. Suddenly, it had an individual to portray cultural notables like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce. And it was going to make sure she portrayed all of them.
Responding directly to multiple elements of the controversy, the segment also joked about Kenan Thompson’s disinterest in playing a black woman and about the volume of white men in the cast (enough for the show to feature “six Matthew McConaugheys!”).
Complete highlights from the show, including the aforementioned cold open, “My Girl,” a parody of Ylvis’ “The Fox,” and “How’s He Doing,” a riff on how black America feels about Barack Obama’s performance, follow:
