On Saturday Night Live, the show attempted to brush off its lack of racial diversity and then expiate its sins with a cameo by MSNBC’s racist Al Sharpton. The opening skit of the show had black actress Kerry Washington playing Michelle Obama, Beyonce, and Oprah Winfrey.
The screen stated:
The producers at ‘Saturday Night Live’ would like to apologize to Kerry Washington for the number of black women she will be asked to play tonight. We made these requests both because Ms. Washington is an actress of considerable range and talent and also because ‘SNL’ does not currently have a black woman in the cast.
Then, recognizing that its dismissal of concerns about a lack of a black woman cast member could be construed as callous, Saturday Night Live had a cameo by Sharpton, who tut-tutted, “What have we learned from this sketch? As usual, absolutely nothing.”