Saturday Night Live star Michael Che ripped by viewers for second week as he’s labelled ‘Ageist, sexist, and worst, not even slightly funny’
Saturday Night Live star Michael Che was ripped on social media Sunday after viewers took umbrage to a joke he made about a 67-year-old Chinese woman giving birth during the Weekend Update segment.
The New York City native, 36, cracked that ‘the birth set a record for most friction,’ before noting that his better punchlines were nixed as ‘the fellas at NBC standards said they were all too dirty.
‘Like, at first I was gonna say, “Well I hope that kid likes his milk chalky!”‘ Che said. ‘But they said, “You can’t say that on TV.”‘
The latest: Saturday Night Live star Michael Che, 36, was ripped on social media Sunday after viewers took umbrage to a joke he made about a 67-year-old Chinese woman giving birth during the Weekend Update segment
Che said that was his ‘second-favorite punchline,’ with his ‘first favorite being, “She can breastfeed just by standing over the crib.”‘
He added: ‘That’s a good one, right? Nope, NBC said, “Too gross,” which is ridiculous.
‘Too gross would be like if I said, “Doctors described the birth as pulling a penny out of a wad of gum.” Now that would be too gross – even I wouldn’t tell that joke on TV!’
Reactions on Twitter were pointedly aimed at the comedian, who was criticized for transphobia after he referred to Caitlyn Jenner as a ‘fella’ in the show’s weekly news segment last week.
Punchline: The New York City native, 36, cracked that ‘the birth set a record for most friction’
Eye of the storm: Che was criticized for transphobia after he referred to Caitlyn Jenner as a ‘fella’ in the show’s weekly news segment last week
‘What the f*** with the #MichaelChe misogyny, @nbcsnl? Ageist, sexist, and worst, not even slightly funny. We expect better. Boo,’ one user wrote, while another said, ‘Weekend Update has long been a favorite but last night, Michael Che’s riff on a 67 year-old woman giving birth was too offensive.’
The viewer added: ‘With no cheap shots for other vulnerable groups allowed anymore you have to aim at older women? At an older woman giving birth? #seniors.’
Another called Che ‘a misogynist d***,’ adding, ‘Always a white woman joke or an attack on women’s physicalities. So boring.’
Inside joke: Che joked that ‘the fellas at NBC standards’ kept rejecting his jokes this past week
Delicate balance: Che said one joke he wrote was too gross to tell – after telling it
Staple: Che celebrated five years on the NBC comedy show this fall
Che last week generated controversy – and transphobia allegations – with a reference to Jenner while speaking about Kanye West and his recent creative turns.
‘At first I thought Kanye was losing his mind, and now I feel like he’s fine, he’s just turning into an old white lady; I mean, he used to be one of the coolest black dudes on Earth,’ he said.
‘Now he’s showing up to events in sweatpants and orthopedic sneakers, listening to Kenny G and trying to get black people to like Trump; it’s like, how long before this guy changes his name to Kathy?’
Response: A number of Twitter users lashed back at Che following the segment
Che then alluded to Jenner, who told Diane Sawyer about plans to transition in an April 2015 interview with ABC News, and emerged publicly as Caitlyn in a Vanity Fair interview two months later.
‘Now, you might think that I’m crazy,’ Che said in the segment, which was accompanied by a shot of Caitlyn prior to her transition, when she was known as Bruce. ‘But about five years ago, there was a fella named Bruce Jenner, and he moved to Calabasas … ‘
On Twitter, a number of users called out Che, with one writing, ‘Michael Che’s transphobic and misogynist BS has to go,’ and that ‘it’s awful and totally not funny. He obviously has nothing left in the tank.’
Another person said: ‘Imagine deadnaming and misgendering a trans woman.. and implying that kanye west is trans because he’s f***in weird? Literally where was the comedy in that michael che.’
