Jay Pharoah get fired from Saturday Night Live has been a major brain scratcher for us for months now.
We mean, he seemed like he almost never got on the display, but every time he did it was a massive reach. So what was the issue ?? More like issues. Plural.
But after an interview with Ebro In The Morning on Thursday, we have a much better idea what went down.
Photos: 21 Saturday Night Live Cast Members Who Got Fired !
Basically, the comic says there were a lot of sources of friction, including that he was pigeonholed as simply an impressionist, that the higher ups wouldn’t green light Barack Obama sketches, and that he ruffled feathers by speaking up about the show’s infamous deficiency of black wives.
Pharoah likewise refused to cooperate in one very specific lane — wearing a dress. He says he was always being asked to wear drag by other writers and cast members; he transgressed it down:
“‘We get this large mind where you put on a dress.’ I’m like, ‘No. I’m not doin’ that.’ ‘What ?? What do you mean you’re not doing it? ‘ ‘I mean, I’m not putting on a dress. I’m not gonna get no tweets from freakin’ … David Banner.”
For those not in the know, for black male musicians being asked to put on a dress is crossing a controversial line. Many in the community — including Dave Chappelle in a 2013 interview — belief black boys are systematically made to wear dress at some degree in their Hollywood careers in an attempt to emasculate them.
This is a real hot button issue for young black musicians, and it seems some of the casting at SNL simply weren’t being sensitive about it — leaving Jay no choice but to refuse, which attained him come across as hard to work with.
Photos: 17 Celebs Who Are Notorious For Being Not-So-Easy To Run With !!
( Of course, they probably wouldn’t have asked him so much if they’d hired more black wives early on. Just sayin’ .)
See Jay get real and raw about SNL, remember the late great Charlie Murphy, explain how he lost so much weight, and more( below )!
What do YOU think of Jay’s explanation?
[ Image via NBC .]
