“SNL” season 51 has no black women after ego nwodim exit
Please, “SNL”, don’t forget black women … again.
On Friday, Ego Nwodim announced that she would leave “Saturday Night Live” after seven seasons, and with her exit a well -known, disturbing truth comes: it looks like the show is on the 51st season on 4 October without a single black woman in his cast, unless someone is added the last minute. And now they may be motivated to do exactly that.
Nwodim, who came to “SNL” in 2018 as a player and was promoted to the repertoire cast in 2020, revealed that she left in an Instagram story. “The most difficult part of a great party is knowing when they should say goodnight,” she wrote. “But after seven unforgettable seasons, I decided to leave SNL. I am very grateful to Lorne for the chance, for my castmats, the writers and the crew for their sparkle, support and friendship. Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could ever have imagined, and I will wear those memories (and lisses).”
Her decision seems to be her own, although the NBC Sketch series is confronted with renewed control of his decades of struggle with representation, especially for black women.
Since the debut from 1975 there have been 172 cast members on ‘Saturday Night Live’. Just about it eight have been black women:
- Yvonne Hudson became the first in 1980 as a recommended player, after he first appeared as a non -proved extra.
- Danitra Vance broke terrain as the first Black Woman Repertory player in 1985, although she was often underhanded.
- Ellen Cleghorne, landing from 1991 to 1995, was the first to last more than one season.
- Maya Rudolph, perhaps the most recognizable, has demonstrated extraordinary versatility and is the longest black woman who is part of the cast from 2000 to 2007.
- Sasheer Zamata joined in 2014 and became the first black woman in the show since Rudolph’s Exit, which meant there were five years during the Obama presidency without black women in the cast.
- Leslie Jones was part of the cast from 2014 to 2019 and joined Zamata shortly after the start of Zamata and earned the Breakout status for her fearless and humorous approach.
- Punkie Johnson became the first open queer black cast member when she was joined in 2020; She left in 2024.
- Ego Nwodim, the last departure, now closes this chapter without successor announced.
The hosting history of the show sketches a similar image. Between seasons 1 and 28, only two black women organized the show: Cicely Tyson in season 4 and Oprah Winfrey in season 11. Then a stunning 17-year-old gap came until Queen Latifah returned to season 28 and again in season 30.
Since then, The List has grown but with large gaps in-betegen: Halle Berry (Season 29), Janet Jackson (Season 29), Rosario Dawson (Season 34), Gaboury Sidibe (Season 35), Maya Rudolphon), 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49), Taraji P. Henson (Season 40), Octavia Spencer (Season 42), Tiffany Haddish (season 43), Issa Rae (season 46), Regina King (season 46), Ariana Debose (season 47), Zoe Krake (Season 47), Megan, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo) (season 48), Quinta Brunson (Seasons 48, 50) and Ayo Edebiri (season 49).
Of the 20 hosts during the historic 50th season of the show, Brunson was the only black woman who was called to Emcee.
Rudolph, who has been both a former cast member and a host, wrote history with “SNL.” In addition to organizing most black woman in history, in 2021 Rudolph became the first person in 20 years who won successive Emmy’s in the same category – twice: once for her voting roll on “Big Mouth” and again for her guest appearances on “SNL”. She also only became the third black woman ever to win back-to-back Emmy’s.
In the meantime, Zamata later explained that she had long wondered whether “SNL” was the right fit, as evidenced by an exit interview from 2017. Jones, after he had become a favorite of fans, also left for her own conditions.
Nwodim now follows a similar pattern: a voluntary exit, an exit that emphasizes the joy of experience but leaves behind an uncomfortable emptiness. The figures speak for themselves. Black women are largely forgotten in the continuous story of “SNL”. Each casting feels like an exception instead of a standard, with every breakthrough followed by silence or relapse.
Unless Lorne Michaels surprises the audience with an 11th-hour announcement-which rarely happens season 51 are the first in years to launch in the cast without black women. The last time this problem arose, it took five years to solve.
“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” has undoubtedly proven that black men can feed in superstar (Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, etc.) and has given a platform to dozens of white women who have become well -known names.
Yet the treatment of black women remains a blind spot, adjacent to institutional erases. But we cannot let Nwodim run away without pointing out some of her most memorable characters, such as Lisa van Temecula and us to give us the best Pedro Pascal -Hosting episode that we can remember. Your service has been noted, Queen.
