Finally! SNL invites a black female comedian to join cast

What took them so long?

It’s been seven years since Maya Rudolph left the cast of SNL in 2007 to pursue a career in feature films. Mrs. Michelle Obama has been the First Lady of the United States for six of those years.

There have been zero additions of black female comedians to the cast of the legendary late-night line-up, until now.

Sasheer Zamata is the newest cast member to join SNL, and she just so happens to be a beautiful, talented black woman.

So what has taken them so long?

“The black actresses auditioning weren’t ready,” SNL cast member Kenan Thompson sounded off, receiving an onslaught of scathing criticisms from some very “ready” black female comedians.

Sketch-comic Kerry Coddett, who made it to the final rounds of auditions for the coveted spot and lost out to newest cast member Zamata, previously wrote, “The SNL writers showed what they could do with a “ready” black actress: pigeonhole her. They took an Emmy-nominated actress and made her play a nagging girlfriend; a sassy eye-rolling assistant; and a rage-filled Ugandan beauty queen.”

She continues, “Why can’t they create interesting and funny characters outside race? How long will it take the SNL writers to learn that black is not a punch line?”

SNL, the country’s premier social outlet for cultural lampooning and critiques, has been missing a black actress to step into that critical role for the last six years.

After experiencing some serious pressure from outside sources, creator Lorne Michaels decided to break tradition and hire a new cast member mid-season. Some suggest it might have something to do with cast members Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharaoh refusing to wear drag in any future episodes, having played Oprah and Jennifer Hudson in the past.

With the departure of head writer and “Weekend Update” co-host, Seth Meyers, leaving to do his own show halfway through the season, it seems appropriate that the show receive a boost in other areas that have been previously lacking.

With the addition of two new female black writers to the writers’ room (LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones) the possibility of new characters and fresher perspectives has greatly increased. Perhaps now, SNL will be ready to break new barriers, like it so famously did in its origination. We’re ready!