Civil Rights Group Applauds Hiring of New SNL Cast Member Sasheer Zamata

As BWW reported yesterday, Sasheer Zamata has been named SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's newest cast member. A recent grad of the University of Virginia and Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre trainee, Zamata will make her SNL debut on the Jan. 18 episode, with Drake set to host and perform, according to Deadline.

Today, a statement from Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org, was released on SNL adding a black woman cast member:

"We are delighted by Saturday Night Live's announcement that Sasheer Zamata will be joining the cast as a featured player. Zamata is a talented comedian and we congratulate her on seizing this great opportunity.

Just before the holidays, ColorOfChange sat down with NBCUniversal executives to discuss SNL's failure to address the exclusion of Black women from the influential show, as well as share our members' concerns about the misleading stereotypes too often used to marginalize and dismiss Black people on television and across our media landscape.

SNL's attention to this issue -- including the decision to hold nationwide mid-season auditions -- is an important step. We'd like to thank NBCUniversal for hearing our community's concerns.

ColorOfChange looks forward to Sasheer Zamata's debut episode, and to continued dialogue with network executives to ensure that she has the support she needs backstage to be successful on screen."

With more than 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation's largest online civil rights organization.

CLICK HERE to get a preview of the new SNL funnylady from her Youtube channel, including her impersonations of Beyonce, Michelle Obama and Rihanna!

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