Saturday Night Live took aim at the Virginia Democrat Party’s blackface scandal by joking that every politician has done it — and saying that it was never cool, even in the 80s.
Both the Virginia governor and the attorney general have admitted to wearing blackface in the 1980s.
In the skit, Kenan Thompson portrays the chair of the ethics committee addressing a room full of lawmakers.
“Alright, so we’re all in agreement that the lieutenant governor should be encouraged to step down? Okay, so it’s settled,” Thompson says. “One more quick thing before we get out of here, as you all know, earlier this week our governor admitted to wearing blackface in college as part of a costume. Then, later, our attorney general admitted to wearing blackface in college as part of a costume. It’s extremely embarrassing to the state — and as chair of the ethics committee I have to ask: has anybody else worn blackface in college?”
“Tell me now so we can get ahead of this,” he said.
One by one the lawmakers begin to confess to wearing blackface and making excuses for it and asking silly questions.
“I have a question: What if the blackface was just part of your costume of a black person,” Beck Bennett’s character asked.
Eventually, after everyone in the room admits to wearing blackface, an exasperated Thompson storms out for a “two week lunch.”
