Sherri Shepherd urged “Saturday Night Live” to quickly hire another Black woman following the departure of Ego Nwodim, who had been the show’s only Black female cast member since Punkie Johnson left in 2024.
“Now, there are no Black women on ‘SNL,’” Shepherd said to her audience on Monday’s episode of “Sherri.” “Y’all got to hurry up and you got to find somebody. This is a break glass moment in case of emergency — it’s so important. We got to have representation on that show.”
Shepherd went on to say that the lack of Black female talent led to the show tapping Black male talent in for Black female roles.
“When I co-hosted ‘The View,’ there was no Black woman on the show to play me … There was no Black woman that even played Whoopi [Goldberg],” Shepherd explained. “Kenan Thompson would play Whoopi at the table when they spoofed us. There was no Black woman to play me … They had the nerve when Tracy Morgan guest hosted, Tracy played me.”
“So, ‘SNL’ I’m trying to understand, I know Ego’s just leaving, [and you’re] trying to get your bearings, but you got to replace Ego,” Shepherd continued. “I don’t like hearing, ‘we can’t find anybody’ … there are lots of talented Black female comics that you can cast on ‘SNL.’”
As TheWrap previously reported, Nwodim left the iconic sketch comedy series back in September, with her being one of many to leave the show over the past two months before Season 51 began in October.
At the time, the actress and comedian said that she was “immensely grateful” to “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels, the cast and the crew for her experience.
“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim said at the time. “Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have ever imagined, and I will carry those memories, and that laughter, with me always.”
You can watch the full “Sherri” segment in the video above.
