Sherri Shepherd Urges SNL to Hire Black Woman Following Ego Nwodim's Departure

During her talk show, Sherri Shepherd made an urgent call for Saturday Night Live to hire a Black female cast member after Ego Nwodim's departure. Nwodim was the show's only Black female cast member, creating a significant representation gap.

Shepherd discussed SNL's historical diversity problems, remembering how Kenan Thompson often had to dress in drag to portray Black women in sketches. She shared her personal experience from The View, where no Black woman was available to play her or Whoopi Goldberg in comedy bits.

She even recalled Tracy Morgan portraying her while wearing what she called an 'old tired wig.' This marks the first time in over ten years that SNL will lack a Black female performer, the last such period being before 2014 when Sasheer Zamata and Leslie Jones joined. Shepherd argued that the excuse of not finding talented Black female comics is unacceptable, mentioning several comedians like Tacarra Williams and B-Phlat who are ready for such opportunities.