Rock The Vote, Day 24: Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels is the creator and producer of Saturday Night Live and he has made some interesting comments about President Donald Trump.
To start things off, Trump hosted SNL in 2015, a decision that ultimately comes down to Michaels. Some critics of the decision have said that episode helped humanize Trump and helped him win the election. On top of that, former SNL cast member Taran Killam told a podcast in 2018 that Michaels instructed the cast not to "vilify" Trump while Trump was running for office.
Before the election in 2016, Michaels told New York Magazine that Trump could end up being the moderate. "Donald’s giving voice to what polite society has sort of sat on for a while, things that are felt but that no one is articulating," Michaels said. "There is something happening there, or it wouldn’t be resonating."
In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Michaels donated $5,000 to moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins. According to her Wikipedia page, she seems to be pretty liberal for a Republican, however.
In 2019, Variety reported that Michaels hired comedian Shane Gillis in an attempt to appeal to the conservative crowd. Gillis never even made it on air; before the first episode of the new SNL season, Gillis' past racist comments were brought to light and he was fired from the show.
SNL has had a long diversity issue — most of the cast throughout its 46-season run has been white. In 2020, comedian Tommy Davidson told The Breakfast Club that Michaels didn't want to hire Davidson for SNL because Michaels wasn't looking for a black comedian, adding that hiring Eddie Murphy was a "mistake."
I feel like Michaels doesn't vote. But I really don't know.
The election is Nov. 3. Find out where you can vote. Support local journalism to stay informed.
Leave a Comment