Tom Hanks has spoken out about offensive SNL skits ironically just before airing one of his own that outraged Republicans.
During Saturday Night Live’s 50th-anniversary show, the 68-year-old actor performed a sketch that upset Trump supporters by portraying a Republican voter as a “racist redneck.” Wearing a red “MAGA” hat, Hanks played Doug, a religious man on a parody game show, Black Jeopardy. When host Kenan Thompson offered a handshake, Doug hesitated before saying, “Maybe I’ll start a show for you to come on and we’ll call it White Jeopardy.”
Hanks defended SNL’s controversial history in his monologue, acknowledging past sketches involving “characters, accents, and… let’s just call them ‘ethnic’ wigs,” adding: “If anyone should be canceled, shouldn’t it be you, the audience?”
While some praised the skit as “spot on,” others were angered. Link Lauren, an advisor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wrote: “Tom Hanks just came out on SNL in a MAGA hat… acted like he didn’t want to shake a black man’s hand. This show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter.”
Despite backlash, fans defended Hanks, with one tweeting: “Lighten up… it was funny.”
