Thursday, March 28, 2024

Michael Che Reacts to Reports He’s Leaving ‘Weekend Update’ on SNL

Michael Che
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “John Mulaney” Episode 1790 — Pictured: Anchor Michael Che during Weekend Update on Saturday, October 31, 2020 — (Photo by: Kyle Dubiel/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

*Michael Che has reportedly revealed that this is his last year serving up the “Weekend Update” segment on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live.”

“This is my last year,” Che, 38, said during a set at a Minnesota salon, according to the Star Tribune. “You know my tie is a clip-on, right? What man wears a clip-on tie to work for eight years — that’s embarrassing.”

Che became the first Black co-head writer in “SNL” in 2017. It’s not clear if he will remain a writer on the show or exit the series entirely. 

READ MORE: SNL’s Michael Che Called Anti-Semitic Over ‘Weekend Update’ Joke (Watch)

 

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A post shared by Michael Che (@chethinks)

Che reportedly joked to the Minnesota crowd that he has no interest in “news” about the Ukraine-Russia war.

“Did you guys think I was gonna talk about the news?” he asked the crowd. “I don’t really do jokes. If I had jokes, I would’ve like, booked a theater. I’m in a beauty shop.”

Amid reports that he’s set to leave SNL’s anchor desk, Che took to social media to seemingly clear the air.

He shared a screenshot of a Huffington Post article and captioned the post (see above), “to comedy fans; please stop telling reporters everything you hear at a comedy show. youre spoiling the trick.”

Last year, Che caught heat over a joke about Israel’s world-leading vaccination program, which faced criticism for not extending access to Palestinian territories. 

“Israel is reporting that they vaccinated half of their population,” said Che during the “Weekend Update” segment, “and I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”

The joke led Jewish organizations and Israeli leaders to accuse Che of exploiting “an antisemitic trope.”

“Saturday’s deeply offensive joke about Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination process not only missed the mark, but crossed the line — basing the premise of the joke on factual inaccuracies and playing into an antisemitic trope in the process,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a tweeted statement at the time.

Watch below, at the 1:33 mark:

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