Sherri Shepherd deems lack of Black women in Saturday Night Live cast "an emergency"

Shepherd offered her reason as to why having “representation on that show” is “so important,” which is both cultural and personal. “When I co-hosted The View, there was no Black woman on the show to play me—There was no Black woman that played Whoopi [Goldberg],” she explained. In previous years, Kenan Thompson has played Goldberg, while Shepherd was depicted by Jay Pharoah or Shepherd’s 30 Rock husband, Tracy Morgan. “They had Tracy Morgan in that old tired shake-and-go wig,” Shepherd said, sharing photos with her audience. “That was supposed to be me… He’s still got a five o’clock shadow!”

Shepherd acknowledged that Nwodim only just left, a decision that appeared to be last-minute after casting for new additions had already concluded. “What I don’t like hearing is, ‘We can’t find anybody,'” the host said. “There are lots of talented Black female comics that you can cast on SNL. If you go to any comedy club or improv place, they are out there waiting for this opportunity, getting ready for this very opportunity.” As examples, Shepherd shouted out some of the great Black female comedians who have been on her show, including Tacarra Williams, B-Phlat, Yamaneika Saunders, and her own comedy producer Robin Montague. 

The issue of diversity has been ongoing for Saturday Night Live, which like much of broadcast television has been overwhelmingly white for most of its history. Per Late Nighter, “five out of the 15 people” who landed in-studio auditions for this season “were non-male people of color,” including three Black women. Of the new hires for season 51, there was some Black talent, including cast member Kam Patterson and writers Jo Sunday and Rachel Pegram. However, Nwodim was one of only eight Black female cast members in 50 years of the show being on the air. This has prompted concern from fans like Sherri Shepherd, who pleaded on her show, “SNL, do not disappoint us.”