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Last August, Saturday Night Live announced it was firing two of its seasoned performers — Taran Killiam, who had been on the show for six seasons and was SNL’s resident Trump impersonator, and Jay Pharoah, who had been on the show for four seasons and was its current Obama impersonator. In the months after their firing, Killiam has been very outspoken in his criticisms on the legendary sketch show while Pharoah has stayed mostly silent. Until now.
In an in-depth interview with New York’s HOT 97, Pharoah criticized Saturday Night Live for putting people into “boxes.” Prior to his time on SNL, the comedian became known for his spot-on impressions of rappers such as Jay Z and Drake. But on SNL, Pharoah became the go-to person for black celebrities. “Whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do,” he said. “And I’m not a ‘yes n—.’” The comedian said that he would often talk to Lorne Michaels about the problems he had with the material, something some of his co-workers were often too scared to do.
Pharoah also discussed the criticism SNL faced a few years ago for not hiring more black women. According to Pharoah, both he and fellow cast member Kenan Thompson were outraged and refused to wear dresses when the show was being heavily criticized for its lack of representation. Pharoah later revealed that he was largely responsible for getting Sasheer Zamata, Leslie Jones, and writer LaKendra Tookes on the show. However, the push for new talent was stressful for the comedian. “When I said what I said and it got on theGrio and it went viral, I almost freaking lost my job,” he said, referencing an article from theGrio published in 2013.
In the 38-minute interview, Pharoah explained why he believes SNL didn’t take full advantage of his President Obama impression. Pharoah believes SNL “gave up” on his Obama, and as a result, the character suffered. According to the comedian, there were plans for Pharoah’s Obama to share a scene with Alec Baldwin’s Trump, something that Baldwin was excited for. However, the show dropped Pharoah before it could happen.
Despite all of this, Pharoah is adamant that things are fine between him and Lorne Michaels. “Lorne, I respect the hell out of him,” he said. “I like Lorne, yeah. Ain’t no problem with Lorne Michaels.” Pharoah then dropped into a spot-on Chris Rock impression, saying, “I met Lorne Michaels and I ain’t been broke ever since.”
