Overview
- Ego Nwodim departed in September after seven seasons, and SNL’s Oct. 4 premiere opened without a Black female cast member.
- On her Oct. 6 show, Sherri Shepherd called the situation an emergency and urged producers to hire a Black woman immediately.
- Shepherd cited past sketches where Kenan Thompson portrayed Whoopi Goldberg and guest host Tracy Morgan portrayed her as evidence of the gap in representation.
- SNL had already added five newcomers for season 51 — Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska — leaving the cast without a Black woman.
- This is the first season since 2014 without a Black female cast member; Shepherd pointed to comedians like Tacarra Williams, B-Phlat, Yamaneika Saunders, and Robin Montague as potential hires, and no replacement has been announced.