Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL - Gawker Comments

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

jasonelias — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:27:06 EST

Why is the post over here, oh well..Here they are, when Lorne had three black people. I remember it well, this was one of my favorite casts.

jasonelias

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

ginger rant — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:49:15 EST

@mimigoliath: I share your grief. Nobody does a black urban teen girl better than Finesse. Including a black urban teen girl.

@IronSheik: Not so fast, my friend. How about the holy trinity--okay, triumvirate--of Keenan Thompson, Finesse Mitchell, and Maya Rudolph of a year or so back?

Okay, what do I win?

ginger rant

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

mimigoliath — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:29:53 EST

@ginger rant: You're not alone in your love of Finesse Mitchell. I was really sad to see him go and thought he was never really given a chance. And I really can't complain about Fred Armisen playing Obama, except that it needs some fine-tuning. (When did he find out he got this gig? The Thursday or Friday before?) Cast members on SNL have crossed race and gender lines since it started. I'm over this one.

mimigoliath

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

IronSheik — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:09:40 EST

@jasonelias: If I remember correctly, Chris and Tim didn't overlap at all. Now Tim and Ellen's time did overlap considerably.

Like I said. Quota of 2 black people at one time.

Anymore than that and Lorne Michaels head explodes.

IronSheik

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

IronSheik — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:06:09 EST

@scroll_lock: yeah they were. that's why it was taken off the air.

IronSheik

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

ginger rant — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:25:23 EST

Finesse Mitchell's name is conspicuously absent in this thread concerning the brown talent from SNL seasons past. I always liked him, but apparently I was a stalker of one.

ginger rant

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Dusty in the Wind — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:52:34 EST

@Martita: Ditto.

Moreover, from over a year ago:

Dusty in the Wind

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

heroinandpeeps — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:53:21 EST

Garrett Morris, your ship has finally come in.

heroinandpeeps

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

seriousbummer — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:46:12 EST

Remember when SNL became MadTV?

seriousbummer

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Martita — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:41:51 EST

I suspect the real problem here is that Fred Armisen is not funny. He is annoying.

Martita

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

jasonelias — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:20:00 EST

@IronSheik: They actually had three in the early '90s with Chris Rock, Tim Meadows and Ellen Cleghorne.

jasonelias

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

barelyblack — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:19:59 EST

Fred Armisen makes a terrific Obama! He totally looks and sounds like him. Race is a ridiculous construct. There are people in my family who "look" white but are not. There are Asians who look black, Jews who look black, blacks who look Asian.

barelyblack

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

jasonelias — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:18:41 EST

Darrell Hammond did Jesse Jackson. Billy Crystal was great as Sammy Davis Jr., Muhammad Ali, and a Negro Leagues player. This isn't anything new. The problem? Armisen's Obama wasn't that funny.

jasonelias

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

amplesufficiency — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:14:24 EST

@VoxPopuli: Yes, actually. Yes I do. Can't you imagine him addressing America as though it were a pigeon eating a french fry? "Don't you know you can fly?!" Inspiring.

amplesufficiency

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Lysergic Asset — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:57:17 EST

The guy (Justin...) from the Barackula video is talented... and way cute, too.

Lysergic Asset

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

scroll_lock — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:52:45 EST

@IronSheik: Big deal. No one ever was outraged that "In Living Color" was mostly black.

scroll_lock

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

scroll_lock — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:50:56 EST

@In Other News...: is YGK the artist formerly known as Cesare?!!

scroll_lock

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

IronSheik — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:37:38 EST

The other part of this argument is that SNL has a quota of two black people on the show at a given time.

But the Campbell Brown impression was dead on.

IronSheik

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

In Other News... — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:23:31 EST

@MisterHippity: No, it's just a caricature of how everything he says comes off as measured and stiff.

In Other News...

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

meerkat — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:07:48 EST

@btrp:
It's because Obama is regarded as a sacred being.
Which was pretty much the point of the skit.

meerkat

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

MisterHippity — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:05:52 EST

I had to watch that clip with the sound turned off, because I'm in the office. Looks like the "Obama" guy was having some kind of seizure ... is that right?

I don't get it. Is Obama an epileptic or something?

MisterHippity

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

scroll_lock — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:01:23 EST

Why'd they ever let Jimmy Fallon impersonate Chris Rock?! Or Phil Hartman doing Barbara Bush? Give me an effing break.

scroll_lock

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

MisterHippity — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:01:18 EST

I don't think they should have a man playing Hillary Clinton, either. I mean, don't get me wrong — Rob Lowe looks good in that wig, and he does a fairly convincing imitation. But SNL should really let woman have a crack at that role.

MisterHippity

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

bigboybc — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:42:21 EST

Here we go... I have just been waiting for this type of nonsense to begin. The moment someone starts to make fun of Obama, the "race baiters" will start shooting their mouths off.

This is why America isn't mature enough to have either an a female or person of color, as president. There is just no way any critical or humorous commentary can be made without being accused of "sexism" or "racism".

By the way, that skit on SNL sucked anyway, so did Tina Feys butt kissing of Clinton.

bigboybc

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

In Other News... — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:27:31 EST

@YourGoldKeith: Somnambulantly pithy.

In Other News...

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Mean_Ol_Liberal — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:27:17 EST

If race didn't matter in casting on SNL, there wouldn't be a thirty year tradition of having only one black male cast member in any collected cast for any given season. But there IS that proud, decades-long tradition.

That said, this era's "permitted" cast member who fits the description looks a lot less like Barack Obama than Armisen does. In my Mean Ol' opinion, unless Kenan Thompson's Obama impression is eerily dead on in mannerism, expression and voice, then it would be MORE racist to just push Thompson into the role solely because he's black.

Mean_Ol_Liberal

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Valerie Flame — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:17:23 EST

I dunno.. I thought the pacing and voice were pretty good. For a Japanese-Venezuelan guy.

Valerie Flame

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

In Other News... — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:13:08 EST

It's called "non-traditional casting". America, lighten up. Or darken. Whatevs. Armisen is a great talent who's played many-a-role in many-a-skintone. Like BellTolls said, the sketch was about the apparent lovefest between Obama and the mainstream press. If all you took away from it was "Hey, that's not a black dude playing a black presidential candidate!" then you've missed the point entirely.

In Other News...

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

In Other News... — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:09:10 EST

@Malarcus: That's what you think.

Love,

The American Auto Industry (or, what remains of it)

In Other News...

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

In Other News... — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:08:30 EST

@buckshot: That's what you think.

Love,

Japan

In Other News...

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

YourGoldKeith — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:56:01 EST

*yawn*

YourGoldKeith

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

btrp — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:01:35 EST

Armisen also did Ahmadinejad. He is not Middle Eastern. I missed the hubbub. Is it because it's not really a different race or because we don't like Ahmadinejad? Or am I missing something here?

btrp

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

whitekidinflatbush — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:42:21 EST

Lorne Michaels has said before that race and gender don't matter in comedy. I don't remember an uproar when Darrell Hammond debuted his Jesse Jackson impression.

whitekidinflatbush

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Malarcus — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:25:50 EST

"He said, 'Black guys... help... the... White Guys!'"

Malarcus

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

Malarcus — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:24:47 EST

@buckshot: Or when Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford...

Malarcus

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

ImFeedingMattDamon — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:45:06 EST

Armisen does Prince all the time. Prince is also black, and princes are way more huger than presidential candidates.

ImFeedingMattDamon

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

VoxPopuli — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:32:29 EST

@jimbehrle: Not unless you want an Obama who wants to take America behind the junior high and get it pregnant.

(I just watched the 30 Rock DVD set through netflix, and that line just seeps into your brain.)

VoxPopuli

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

VoxPopuli — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:30:22 EST

Well, I'll give the SNL guy credit for getting Obama's "concerned face" down fairly well, but the rest was just horrible.

If anyone here listens to the BBC, did you hear this interview about a week ago with an "Obama impersonator" who sounded nothing like Obama except that he has an American accent, which maybe was enough for the British interviewer. What race he was, I don't know - it was a podcast.

VoxPopuli

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

psst — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:45:00 EST

Indeed; I agree that only the token Negroe in that fine Troupe of Merry Players should have License to play the present dark Candidate, Mr.Obama.

psst

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

buckshot — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:19:40 EST

No one bitched when John Belushi did Samurai Deli!

buckshot

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

boofrickenboo — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:24:33 EST

uh, obama's half white, does that mean only half white actors can play him?

boofrickenboo

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

boofrickenboo — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:20:32 EST

uh, obama's half white, so does that mean only half white actors can play him?

boofrickenboo

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

nightfloat — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:18:41 EST

keenan sucks so bad. he even sucked on all that on nickelodeon.

nightfloat

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

blakeley — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:06:39 EST

Time to bring Eddy Murphy back, it'll keep him from doing all those recent shitty movies too!

blakeley

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

heroinandpeeps — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:50:35 EST

Is there such a thing as "gay face?"

heroinandpeeps

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

vandusen — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:50:14 EST

Next they're going to tell me I can't cast white men in my mandingo parties.

vandusen

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

belltolls — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:42:27 EST

Let me help the newsies here: the skit wasn't about Obama. It was about the press fawning over Obama. It was Emperor's New Clothes. It wasn't the tightest, funniest writing ever but it was pretty ballsy given the stated preference of the producer.

belltolls

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

we-are-the-801 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:40:33 EST

Yeah, get Keenan to do it. Or what's Kel up to?

we-are-the-801

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

jimbehrle — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:28:09 EST

Paging Tracy Morgan. Please pick up the red courtesy phone.

jimbehrle

Only Black Guys Can Be Obama On SNL

HiredGoons — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:27:10 EST

Frankly I'm shocked that ANYONE wants to be on SNL anymore.

HiredGoons