Tom Hanks has been criticised for portraying a Trump supporter as a dimwitted ‘racist’ during a performance on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The Hollywood icon returned as Doug, a naive idiot who wears a Make America Great Again hat and does unexpectedly well on Black J, a spoof game show.
Hanks first appeared as Doug on Black Jeopardy! in 2016 to illustrate both the distinctions and similarities between Trump voters and black culture.
The character was brought back for the 50th anniversary of the NBC staple, which included comedy sketches from A-listers and SNL alums including Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, David Spade and Jon Lovitz.
But, as MAGA fans pointed out, President Trump has since triumphed over a diverse electorate and secured the popular vote – turning Doug into an outdated stereotype.
In the new version of the sketch, Doug vehemently refused to shake hands with host Darnell Hayes played by Kenan Thompson.
Afterwards, Trump fans blasted SNL and the ‘Forrest Gump’ celebrity for what they viewed as an unfair characterisation.
Former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aide Link Lauren called the character ‘disgusting’ and accused SNL of pushing a tired, divisive narrative.
‘This show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter,’ he wrote. ‘Trump won the popular vote. This tired trope that MAGA is racist is disgusting. SNL is an unfunny show for snobbish liberal elites.’
Other Trump supporters shared his views, criticising the sketch in droves on social media.
Right-wing influencer Dominick McGee took direct aim at Hanks, accusing him of ‘just disrespecting every Republican on SNL as he was dressed up as a Trump supporter with a MAGA hat.’
Another critic pointed out what they saw as an awkward silence during the sketch, writing, ‘No one in the audience laughs as Tom Hanks appears on SNL as a racist Trump supporter that refuses to shake hands with a Black man.’
Trump supporters also used the moment to spotlight what they claim is SNL’s declining viewership.
One Trump fan account wrote, ‘Tom Hanks and SNL thought it would be hilarious for him to put on a MAGA hat and act out a stereotype of half the country in a desperate attempt to cope with Democrats’ crushing defeat in November. Not surprising no one watches SNL or NBC anymore.’
During the remainder of the three-and-a-half-hour broadcast – featuring everyone from Cher to Bad Bunny, Adam Sandler and Scarlett Johansson – the star-studded cast could not help but take cheap shots at Trump.
In another sketch that poked fun at 50 years of drastic changes in New York City, the cast performed a parody of the well-known show tune I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.
‘I dreamed a dream that King Kong died, then I remembered he’s in Florida,’ sang one cast member, in a thinly veiled swipe at the president who left Manhattan after his first term.
But the special marking 50 years on air poked fun at the Trump administration from the very beginning.
It took mere seconds before actor and comedian Steve Martin, 79, made his first political jab quipping about how he had been on a boat in ‘The Gulf of Steve Martin’ – a joke about Trump’s recent renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
‘I can’t believe I made it here in time. It was only a few days ago that Lorne told me I was doing the monologue, and I was actually vacationing on a friend’s boat down in the Gulf of Steve Martin,’ Martin began.
Later in the monologue Martin’s fellow Only Murders In The Building Canadian co-star Martin Short, 74, strolled onstage.
Martin asked him, ‘Do you have your passport on you? ICE, get him!’ as performers dressed as ICE employees carried Short off the stage.
‘No! I’ll name names! Mike Myers! Jim Carrey!’, Short shouted as he was hauled away.
Later during the famous Weekend Update segment, commentator Colin Jost quipped about how it could be the last season of SNL if Trump has his way.
‘It is an honour and a thrill to be hosting Weekend Update for the 50th, and if it was up to our president, final season of SNL,’ Jost said to laughter from the audience.
‘It is incredible that SNL is still going after all this time and I’m just talking about tonight’s show.’
Trump has often criticised Saturday Night Live and has been especially harsh on the comedy program. He is known to hardly ever laugh and has demonstrated animosity towards ridicule in general.
‘SNL is bad but Saturday Night Live is the worst of NBC. Not funny, cast is terrible, always a complete hit job. Really bad television!’ Trump wrote in January 2017.
In 2019 he threatened the show with a federal investigation for mocking him after he took a disliking to Alec Baldwin’s interpretation of him.
Last year, SNL creator Lorne Michaels vowed the show would ‘reinvent’ the way it portrays Trump during his second term in office.
During Weekend Update Cecily Strong emerged as her character ‘Girl you never want to talk to at a party’ where she seemed to attract attention to the current political climate.
‘Is it nice to be on the verge of the apocalypse? It’s devastating. It’s a constipational crisis, literally for me. Do I want to bring a baby into the world or should I keep her in here for another 3½ years.’
Michael Che, the co-host, enquired about Strong’s workplace.
‘I’m the press secretary at the White House,’ Strong replied. ‘People are so angry about DEI, well, stop drinking and driving,’ she quipped as she jokingly blurred the words DUI with DEI.
Driving Under the Influence, or DUI for short, is the crime of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.
DEI, of course, stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order to end DEI programs throughout the federal government, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
The programs, according to Trump and his supporters, discriminate against white Americans.
Two hours into the performance, the SNL special took a swipe at the politics of New York disparaging former Mayor Rudy Giuliani with Kate McKinnon reprising the role.
‘Rudy, you’re America’s mayor. You’re beloved all across the country, this is your big shot. What are you going to do with it?’
‘Simple. I AM throwing away my shots. I am throwing my shots!’ he said, to a rap from the Hamilton musical alongside creator Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton.
Just wait until the day when Hollywood celebs come to the realisation that they played an essential part in getting Trump elected in the first place. Perhaps there should be an Academy Award category for that. Tom Hanks would certainly be a contender.
The number of gifted performers and public personalities who choose to destroy themselves with antiquated and ineffectual speech simply because they have nothing fresh to offer is disheartening.
I once liked Tom Hanks, but like most of the other crazy people in Hollywood, he has since turned into a socialist freak.
I used to think that screaming ageing rockers, exploding out of their tight pants, with long grey hair that was thinning on top were the saddest spectacle to watch. Still, they’ve been superseded by these old, irrelevant, not-so-funny, so-called performers, and SNL has been on life support for many years now.
It doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong – it’s your choice, but don’t try to use your lame Hollywood influence on me – that is just awful, but then, Americans are extremely weird when it comes to politics.
Their constant one-sided political insults simply sum up Hollywood, the film industry, the news media, talk shows et cetera. They all live in their own little bubble, along with left-wing politicians and globalist billionaires, patting each other on the back, and giving each other awards, all the while criticising the ordinary working people who they see as ignorant peasants for not supporting them on their latest virtue signalling bandwagon.
It has been demonstrated time and time again that people are sick of these celebs pushing their agenda when all we want is for them to entertain us. Why should we listen to a bunch of millionaires who don’t live in the real world, which also includes the UK as well as the US?
SNL is for five-year-olds. However, children watching it learn that mocking is bullying while still young and it’s funny. Actors are entertainers, like jugglers or people who do card tricks et cetera. Nothing unique beyond their circle of misguided friends and fans. Stick to acting Tom, not mocking others.
Whether we commoners are upset or not is irrelevant to Tom Hanks. That’s probably how he likes it.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 