‘SNL’s Michael Che Called Out for “Transphobic” Caitlyn Jenner Joke

Saturday Night Live has managed to piss people off twice in one week. This Saturday, “Weekend Update” host Michael Che did an extended bit about Kanye West, who he said is dangerously close to transforming into “an old white lady.” Che then held up Caitlyn Jenner as an example for West, saying that the former Olympian was “a fella named Bruce Jenner” before transitioning. The joke immediately fell flat with SNL‘s audience, and it didn’t fare much better on Twitter, where users slammed Che for misgendering and deadnaming Jenner. “Transphobia is not funny and not acceptable in 2019,” wrote one viewer. “Do better, SNL.”

Che began his bit by mentioning West’s new gospel album, “Jesus Is King,” which made waves after it was released on Friday. “It’s also being reported that Kanye will be altering his old hits with more G-rated lyrics,” said the “Weekend Update” host. “So, yay.” Che said that he was initially concerned about the rapper, but he’s now realized that West is fine: “He’s just turning into an old white lady.” He explained that West “used to be one of the coolest black dudes on Earth,” but “now he’s showing up to events in sweatpants and orthopedic sneakers, listening to Kenny G and trying to get black people to like Trump. It’s like, how long before this guy changes his name to Cathy?”





“Now, you might think that I’m crazy, but about five years ago, there was a fella named Bruce Jenner, and he moved to Calabasas…” Che continued. When no one reacted — except one audience member who could be heard yelling, “No” — he let his sentence trail off. Colin Jost tried to laugh it off, saying, “That’s pretty much ended,” but the damage was done.

Within minutes, viewers took to Twitter to express their anger. “SNL just made a Caitlyn Jenner joke that was so bad and transphobic that you could hear someone in the audience say ‘Noooooo,'” wrote writer Bonnie Stiernberg. “Caitlyn Jenner was deadnamed and misgendered as a punchline. There wasn’t even a joke,” added another viewer. “These things are extremely harmful, widespread practices that contribute to the oppression of trans women, and the trans community at large,” wrote a viewer in a tweet calling for SNL to apologize.





While the entire bit is still available in NBC’s official YouTube clip, Hulu has edited the segment to remove Che’s “and he moved to Calabasas…” Interesting place to cut (why not cut the entire sentence?), but it’s something, I guess. Watch a portion of Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” segment in the clip above.





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