Don Lemon Uses Golden Globes to Argue Why SNL Diversity Is Important

Tina Fey. Amy Poehler. Andy Samberg. Julia Louis-Dreyfus. What do these people have in common? They all had a big presence at the Golden Globes Sunday night, and they are all alum of Saturday Night Live. And so in a piece of commentary on The Tom Joyner Show, CNN’s Don Lemon used the Globes to argue that the recent hirings of three black women on SNL is a significant issue that can’t be understated.

RELATED: Don Lemon: New SNL Cast Member Must Be ‘Funnier Than She Is Black’

Lemon argued that diversity offers “opportunity, access, and exposure” for new comedic talent, which is why it’s important for more minorities to be in a career-building venue like that. He said, “If you don’t think the opportunity to work for a show like SNL is a big deal, perhaps you should ask just a few of the people whose career it helped launch.”

Lemon went through a whole list of people who were unknowns before they joined SNL, only to move onto much bigger projects and getting a lot of attention, including Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, and Tim Meadows.

SNL poked fun of its own lack of diversity late last year with Kerry Washington running on- and off-stage to play a number of black women, including Michelle Obama and Oprah.

Listen to the audio below, via Black America Web:

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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