Saturday Night Live Star Being Canceled For Simone Biles Jokes
A Saturday Night Live star is facing considerable backlash right now for comments he made about Simone Biles. He is claiming he was hacked
This article is more than 2 years old
Saturday Night Live cast member Michael Che is under considerable fire right now for a social media post he made late last week that poked fun at Simone Biles. His attitude toward the athlete and gymnastic superstar in the wake of her leaving the Olympic games over mental health issues has not been warmly received. In fact, there is a considerable cancellation effort rising right now with Che in the internet crosshairs.
Michael Che, who hosts Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, had a post on his Instagram account this weekend that said, “man, I want to make fun of Simone Biles right now”and then was followed up with, “I got like 3 mins of simone biles jokes in my head. im going to the cellar tonight to say them into a microphone. as the dorky kids say, im choosing violence.”
Additionally, during this timeline on Instagram, the Saturday Night Live star also apparently opened up his account to receive jokes about Simone Biles which were then displayed. The account rated them, and some were incredibly tasteless including comments about sexual abuse from former gymnastics coach Larry Nassar.
These posts have since been deleted from his account, but it didn’t take long for the internet mobs to jump all over the Saturday Night Live star for insensitivity regarding Simone Biles and what transpired with her last week at the Olympic Game. The Micheal Che Instagram account postings were referencing Biles having pulled out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games and removing herself from the gymnastic competitions. The superstar athlete had said on social media that she didn’t feel comfortable in the competition, claiming her mind and boy weren’t in sync. This raised considerable backing from others for Biles choosing to speak out on her own mental health, and having that take precedent instead of the competition.
Here were what Saturday Night Live fans and others originally had to say about the messages from Michael Che:
Michael Che, in the wake of the uproar caused by his Instagram postings, has since said that his account was hacked. He has since cleared his entire Instagram account and posted a follow-up which has also been deleted. It said, “Maaannnn, i got hacked today. cant believe they got me. yall know i only do jokes about whites and cops,” Che’s post read. “s’all good now, i changed my password and everything…”
Time will tell if this excuse for Micheal Che is sufficient and whether others (like those on Saturday Night Live) will believe this to be the case around this issue. In a world where cancellation efforts are swift and merciless, there is some chance he realized the error of his ways and did an about-face. Of course, there is also the chance it is true and he was, in fact, hacked. The latter might be true, but difficult to prove.
Micheal Che has been on Saturday Night Live for eight seasons and is currently listed as a head writer for the show. In 2014, he became the Weekend Update co-anchor alongside Colin Jost and the two have received rave reviews for their chemistry and timing in the much-revered slot. Whether these comments, hacks or not, threaten the career of Michael Che on Saturday Night Live remains to be seen. The show is currently off for the summer and there is some chance it all blows over before they pick up in the fall again.
