Social Media is up in arms over jokes "Saturday Night Live" star Michael Che made about Simone Biles, as well as Larry Nassar.
The comedian stirred controversy on Thursday when he took to his Instagram Stories to share ideas he had for his upcoming stand-up show at a Manhattan comedy club.
"I got like 3 mins of Simone Biles jokes in my head. I’m going to the [Comedy Cellar] tonight to say them into a microphone. As the dorky kids say I’m choosing violence," Che said, according to a screenshot shared by a Twitter user.
Che then went on to post some of the jokes he had allegedly written. One referenced Nassar, the former doctor of the U.S. women's national gymnastics team who was convicted of sexually assaulting hundreds of young women, including Biles.
"Larry Nasser [sic] understands Simone Biles better than anyone," the joke read. "He too had to quit doing what he loved at the pinnacle of his career because of mounting pressure."
Backlash soon ensued, with many calling for HBO and "SNL" to end their contracts with Che.
"Imagine having a platform like Michael Che and sharing rape jokes…. honestly what a sick person and it’s disgusting for @nbcsnl to do nothing about it," a Twitter user wrote.
"Larry Nassar sexually assaulted over 300 gymnasts including Simone Biles. Jokes about this immense violence are never okay. @hbomax @nbcsnl why is Michael Che still on your roster?" another stated.
"Just did a quick search using the phrase "Michael Che lashes out"@nbc @nbcsnl @hbo buckle up! None of this should be news to you, but maybe it's time to actually care. Let's boogie," a third added.
Also in the screenshots of Che's jokes, which were shared on Twitter, was his response to the backlash.
"maaannnn i got hacked today," he wrote. "cant believe they got me. yall kno i only do jokes about whites and cops. s'all good now, i changed my password and everything..."
In February, Che also faced widespread criticism after cracking a seemingly anti-Semitic joke.
"Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half," Che said during "SNL," according to New York Post.
Israel, which became a world leader in COVID-19 vaccination, is almost three-fourths Jewish.
Among those who slammed Che for the joke was former New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who wrote on Twitter that it was "unsurprising coming from SNL as they have a long record of antisemitism," adding that "Michael Che, or whoever wrote that ‘joke,’ is obviously also ignorant of fact that Israel has Arab citizens who’ve received the vaccine according to the same qualifications as Jews!"
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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