Kenan Thompson Speaks On Cosby, Controversy And Nearly 2 Decades Of 'SNL'

LOADING ERROR LOADING Kenan Thompson opened up about taking inspiration from “The Cosby Show,” processing race relations in the U.S. and starring for nearly two decades on “Saturday Night Live” in an interview with Variety published Wednesday. The actor and comedian ― who also appears as the titular character on “Kenan,” an NBC sitcom about a single father raising two daughters ― said that he feels it’s important for him to offer a positive representation of a Black father on television, similar to what “The Cosby Show” provided in the 1980s. “It was a show that brought everybody together, and it was all positive.” Thompson acknowledged that the revelations of sexual abuse that ended Bill Cosby’s career and sent the actor formerly known as “America’s dad” to prison made it “tough to separate the man from the art,” adding that his own show “won’t have drama attached to it like that.” On the subject of injustice, he said that 2020’s conversations regarding police brutality and systemic racism had made him more thoughtful about speaking up and “just wanting to be in the fight.” “Having to fight from a distance because I have to watch my household,” Thompson said. At the time, he called it “a tough part” of the business and said that at auditions, “they just never find ones that are ready.” In the Variety interview, Thompson declared, “I would never say anything derogatory towards Black women ― like, I would never say Black women aren’t funny or anything like that.” He argued that he had misspoken in 2013 and should have said that the improv comedy troupes that serve as training grounds for comedians need to prioritize hiring Black female talent.