Lorne Michaels on Black Women on SNL: ‘It Will Happen’

"It's not like it's not a priority for us," Michaels said

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After being criticized about the lack of diversity on Saturday Night Live, the show’s founding producer Lorne Michaels has finally issued a response.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Michaels said he anticipates adding a black female cast member in the future. “It’s not like it’s not a priority for us,” he said. “It will happen. I’m sure it will happen.”

The response comes after Civil Rights group Colorofchange.org sent Michaels and the other show producers a letter asking how they will ensure that black women are represented on the show.

“Since Maya Rudolph’s departure in 2007, SNL has failed to cast even one Black woman — yet still manages to traffic in dehumanizing portrayals that make race and gender the butt of the joke,” the group said in a letter to SNL obtained by Hollywood Reporter. The SNL troupe includes three actors of color:  Kenan Thompson, Jay Pharoah and Iranian-American Nasim Pedrad.

[Hollywood Reporter]