“Jokes often go too far and are subjective. The line comedians walk is a thin one. But what I see in Melissa’s statements, in some cases, aren’t jokes but racist and/or anti-Black statements,” Reign said.

“Because neither Melissa nor ‘SNL’ have decided to comment, we are left to wonder if she understands why her tweets are harmful or if she feels any remorse. It is unfortunate that what began as a celebratory occasion is now overshadowed.”

Villaseñor’s mad dash to delete her offensive tweets and her subsequent silence are an important reminder of the anti-blackness that non-black Latinos and other people of color, often times, consciously and unconsciously perpetuate in the comedy realm.

There’s a sense amongst some people that racist jokes are only “racist” when white people make them, but as Villaseñor and others like Anjelah Johnson of “MADtv” demonstrate, that isn’t always the case.

A week before Villaseñor’s casting was announced, Johnson, who is of Mexican and Native American descent, reprised her character Bon Qui Qui in a new rebooted version of the sketch comedy series “MADtv.” Johnson portrays stereotypes specific to “ratchet” black women ― loud, aggressive, violent, etc. While black people do appear in the sketch with her, it doesn’t change the fact that Johnson, a non-black woman, is capitalizing and profiting from her perpetuation of harmful narratives about black women. (Johnson has another popular character in her standup routine of a stereotypical Vietnamese nail artist).

It remains to be seen whether Villaseñor or “SNL” will eventually address her tweets. In all likelihood, the powers-that-be may be waiting for the controversy to sufficiently die out on its own. It’s the worst kind of response ― the kind of silence that makes “SNL” more and more complicit in failing to tackle race in a nuanced way, even as it tries to diversify an incredibly white cast.