Michael Che is in hot water after making what many perceived to be a transphobic joke about Caitlyn Jenner on “Saturday Night Live.”
Che was mocking Kanye West and his latest album release, “Jesus Is King,” during the “Weekend Update” segment when he compared the rapper, 42, to Jenner, 70.
“I mean, he used to be one of the coolest black dudes on earth now he’s showing up to events in sweatpants and orthopedic sneakers, listening to Kenny G and trying to get black people to like Trump,” Che said. “How long before this guy changes his name to Cathy?”
“Now, you might think that I’m crazy, but about five years ago, there was a fella named Bruce Jenner, and he moved to Calabasas…” Che said, trailing off as the audience audibly laughed uncomfortably.
The punchline — or lack thereof — didn’t sit well with many fans.
“Caitlyn Jenner was deadnamed and misgendered as a punchline. There wasn’t even a joke,” one Twitter user wrote. “The punchline was just dead naming her and then the bit ended. It was super uncomfortable for the audience.”
Deadnaming is the act of using a person’s former name prior to his/her transition. Caitlyn, who was married to West’s mother-in-law Kris Jenner for more than 20 years before their 2015 divorce, publicly came out as transgender that year.
“@nbcsnl Michael Che, I’m disappointed in your comparison of Kanye West, a cis man, to Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman. Your comparison implies that trans women are just men who change their names. You also misgendered and deadnamed her,” another user wrote. “Both of these things are extremely harmful, widespread practices that contribute to the oppression of trans women, and the trans community at large. I want you to apologize for this behavior. You are better than this.”
Che’s manager didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment. A rep for “SNL” didn’t immediately get back to us.