Did "Saturday Night Live" Hold a Secret Audition for Black Female Comedians?

Julie Miller

Ladies and gentleman of theSaturday Night Liveaudience, Lorne Michaels has heard your myriad complaints about there not being a black female cast member on his long-running sketch series. This was evidenced by a sketch earlier this season during which host Kerry Washington poked fun at the very subject by appearing as multiple black celebrities. And if recent reports are to be believed, theS.N.L.is creator has now actually done something about the viewer complaints, holding a top-secret audition for that demographic only at Los Angeles's Groundlings Theatre a week and a half ago.

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Comedienne Bresha Webb, who says that she participated in the audition, told The Jasmine Brand about the showcase in a new interview. "The audition came about from an inside source from SNL," she explains. "I don't think any of us had a clue about the showcase until two days prior. It was an awesome opportunity even though it was such a short notice but, if you stay ready you ain't gotta get ready and we were READY!"

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The comediennes reportedly auditioned in front of a live audience, and according to Webb, were "very supportive of each other and there was no sense of competition or pettiness. We were just happy that some new black women in comedy were being considered and given a shot. We even held hands prayed after the showcase. It was refreshing." Webb also provides photos of herself with the other comediennes praying backstage afterward. The report is substantiated by several of the other funny women who auditioned, including Tiffany Haddish, Simonne Shepherd, and Darmirra Brunson. all of whom tweeted about the December 2 event in messages gathered by Gothamist.

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