Colin Jost and Michael Che spent a few minutes discussing the backlash from Colin Kaepernick's quiet protest of police brutality during the inaugural "Weekend Update" sketch of Saturday Night Live's new season, but people were soon commenting on more than Che's performance. Che dropped the N-word halfway through the sketch, and the internet wasn't pleased.
The pair started with a joke about how lame the national anthem is anyway, and mixed in a line ribbing white people for their lack of rhythm.
"How'd they even notice that someone was kneeling? That's how boring the national anthem is," Che said. "Halfway through it, you're looking around like, 'I wonder what the backup quarterback for the 49ers is up to.'"
"Well, I like the national anthem. It has choreography that white people can candle," he says, holding his hand up to his heart. "Just like step one of the Macarena."
Che then argued that he understood why some white people would defend the anthem.
“I expect white guys to defend the national anthem like I expected Phylicia Rashad to defend Bill Cosby. I’m sure when all the people were protesting The Cosby Show, Claire Huxtable was like, ‘I don’t know what he did to y’all, but n**** made me rich,'” Che said. "I know that it's inconvenient to bring up such heavy issues at a football game, but that's the point. It's supposed to be inconvenient. It's a protest."
The internet wasn't happy:
And last night was only the season premiere.