March 28, 2024 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

Sam Jay is the Queer POC Writer SNL Needs

For a show that has always been at the forefront of mocking the conservative and prudish, it’s taken “Saturday Night Live (SNL)” a long time to catch up to itself in terms of filling its writers’ room with varying voices. But now, at last, Sam Jay is here to help fill the void.

As loyal watchers of SNL already know, the absence of LGBTQ+ writers of color on the show for many decades has resulted in the sort of over-the-top caricatures that, with each passing year, come across as increasingly offensive as the culture at large theoretically becomes less prone to accepting heteronormativity as the norm. One such illustrious example is Stefon, played by Bill Hader. The hungry-for-a-freshly-born-club critiquer of the New York dance underworld is humorous, to be sure, but not exactly a divergent representation of how the average American views a gay man.

In spite of SNL’s somewhat storied history of having gay and lesbian cast members, Jay will mark the first openly out Black female writer. While Season 11 of the show brought us Danitra Vance, she never came out in her lifetime (having died of breast cancer in 1994,) even though her sketches remain a standout part of that season, with such regular spoofs of what black women must endure in the entertainment industry as “That Black Girl” and “I Play the Maids.” Ultimately, however, Vance left the show out of creative frustration, possibly feeling she was being laughed at instead of with, and not being able to fully influence most of her own narratives.

What’s more, the fact that one of SNL’s most recent current head writers, Chris Kelly, is gay,  speaks to how much things have changed since the era of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler parodying gay men in the commercial for Schmitts Gay or the highly offensive Cheri Oteri sketch, “Mickey the Dyke.” And let’s not forget about the animated Ambiguously Gay Duo segment either, voiced, incidentally, by Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.

In the wake of Kelly’s departure, co-supervising writer Michael Che was the one to bring in Boston-area comic Jay. Known for her standup routine, Jay has been most apprehensive about working among writers who primarily originate from the world of improv. But regardless of where she honed her comedy chops, Jay represents the type of objectivity SNL needs to better understand how to portray the LGBTQ+ community in a manner that’s not as tone deaf as attempts of the show’s past. So yes, rejoice: long gone are the days of laughs being “easily generated” purely from showing two gay people being physical with one another.

Related Posts

MJ Rodriguez, 1st Openly Transgender Actress to Win Golden Globe

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Michaela Jae “MJ” Rodriguez has made history by becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Golden Globe.  The...

Animal Shelter Donations In Honor Of Betty White

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Animal shelter donations have increased exponentially in honor of late actress gay icon and animal lover Betty White. Over the...

Netflix Launches LGBTQ Podcast ‘The Gay Agenda’

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Netflix has launched “The Gay Agenda,” a new podcast that will look at the lives of LGBTQ+ creatives at the...

Hollywood Star and Gay Icon Betty White Dies Aged 99

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Hollywood Star and gay icon Betty White died peacefully in her Brentwood home in West LA  on December 31st.  She...

Team Trans* Walk-Out At Netflix Office In Hollywood

October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

Netflix’s trans employee resource group is planning a Team Trans* employee walk-out on October 20th at the Netflix office located...

Sex and the City Star Willie Garson Dead At 57

September 28, 2021

September 28, 2021

Acclaimed actor and Los Angeles resident Willie Garson passed away on September 21 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer,...

GLAAD Responds To Historic Emmy Noms

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

GLAAD has responded to the historic Emmy nominations after it was announced that out trans actress MJ Rodriguez and out...

MJ Rodriguez Makes History As First Out Trans Woman Emmy Nominee

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

Actress Michaela Jaé, formerly known as  MJ Rodriguez, became the first out trans woman performer to be nominated in a...

“Gayest Episode Ever” An LGBTQ+ Podcast

June 29, 2021

June 29, 2021

Gayest Episode Ever is an LGBTQ+ podcast hosted by journalist Drew Mackie and screenwriter Glen Lakin. The podcast looks at...

Buzzfeed’s Docuseries “The Andrea Mares Project”

June 11, 2021

June 11, 2021

BuzzFeed’s As/Is presents “The Andrea Mares Project,” a docuseries that shadows Andrea Mares, a trans-feminine Latinx, as she embarks on...

2021 Pride Announces “Thrive With Pride” Theme

May 15, 2021

May 15, 2021

LA Pride has announced its 2021 pride theme this year called “Thrive With Pride”.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in...

Ellen DeGeneres Ending 18 Year Talk Show

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2021

After more than 3,000 episodes and 19 seasons it is confirmed that Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show The...

Ellen DeGeneres Under Fire For Admitting To Driving Under The Influence

April 30, 2021

April 30, 2021

Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for admitting to driving wife Portia DeRossi to the hospital while under the influence.  While...

Tina Turner Documentary Breaks Records

April 4, 2021

April 4, 2021

Singer, song writer and gay icon Tina Turner released a documentary on HBO Max as a farewell to her fans...

First Gay Teen Captain America Revealed By Marvel

March 28, 2021

March 28, 2021

Marvel Comics has revealed the first look at a new Captain America who happens to be a gay teen.  The...