SNL adds Bowen Yang as its first Asian-American cast member

SNL may have suffered a major loss going into their 45^th season with news this summer that regular cast member and fan favourite Leslie Jones would not be returning, but the show is charging ahead with the addition of three new members. Announced on Thursday, SNL is adding comedians Chloe Fineman, Shane Gillis and Bowen Yang to the cast, with Yang already making history as the first Asian American featured player.A graduate of NYU, Yang’s career has taken place on and behind the stage, including his work as the host of his own podcast Las Culturistas alongside Matt Rogers, which has included notable guests like Ilana Glazer, Betty Gilpin and Padma Lakshmi, as well as SNL writer Julio Torres and cast member Chris Redd. Yang joined the SNL team last season as a staff writer and has one credit on the SNL stage. During Season 44, Yang played North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Sandra Oh’s hosting gig, with the pair appearing together in a sketch.

 

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“President Putin, Chairman Kim is here to see you.” #SNL

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Oh’s appearance during last seasons’ SNL made her only the fifth Asian or Asian-American to host the long running sketch series following Jackie Chan (2000), Lucy Liu (2000), Aziz Ansari (2017), Kumail Nanjiani (2017) and Awkwafina (2018).Chloe Fineman is a graduate of the prestigious LA-based improv group The Groundlings, which has produced many SNL players in the past, including Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, Phil Hartman, Chris Kattan, Taran Killam, Cheri Oteri, Chris Parnell, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig. Having appeared at Montreal’s Just For Laughs, Fineman is best known for her celebrity impressions, which she often posts on social media. We recommend going down the rabbit hole that is Fineman’s Instagram. Her impressions are niche and spot-on.

 

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@busyphilipps should host the Oscars!!! WORK IN PROG, GUYS.

A post shared by Chloe Fineman (@chloeiscrazy) on Jan 10, 2019 at 7:40pm PST

While this week’s announcement of Yang and Fineman are cause for celebration (first Asian-American player and another woman – yes please), SNL’s third new addition is unfortunately making headlines for the wrong reasons. Only hours after SNL revealed their new lineup, clips from comedian Shane Gillis’ podcast Matt And Shane’s Secret Podcast were posted on Twitter by writer Seth Simons and include many recent examples of Gillis making jokes that are racist and homophobic.The comments were made in 2018 on Gillis’ not-so-secret podcast and considering how quickly they were unearthed by Simons, it has to make you wonder how the HR team at SNL didn’t flag the comedian before he even walked through the door. Considering SNL’s long issue with race and its lack of diversity in its cast and writing staff, it’s upsetting that SNL would greenlight a decision to add Gillis to the show, especially when his unacceptable comments were made within the last year. Not all comedy is PC and we get that, but Gillis' comments don’t feel like jokes.Saturday Night Live kicks off its 25^th season on Saturday, September 28 with host Woody Harrelson and musical guest Billie Eilish.

 

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We highly recommend swiping through this carousel. #SNL

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