Rapper-turned-presidential candidate Kanye West is unhappy with a Saturday Night Live skit that mocked his bid for the Oval Office over the weekend.
In the sketch, cast member Kenan Thompson played a talk show host on the fictional “Your Voice Chicago,” during which SNL host Issa Rae, portraying a black political activist, told Thompson she plans to vote for “everybody black” on Election Day. The punchline is that after backing increasingly outlandish candidates, she can’t bring herself to vote for West.
“Kanye? ‘F’ him,” Rae’s character responded after Thompson said that West is on this year’s presidential ballot.
The skit was reportedly inspired by Rae’s comments at the 2017 Emmy Awards when she said she was “rooting for everybody black.”
West, who hosted the show in September 2018, was met with controversy when he appeared on stage after the episode ended in a Make America Great Again hat before giving a speech in which he said cast members “bullied” him backstage for wanting to wear the hat.
“I’ve always said SNL uses black people to hold other black people back,” West tweeted on Sunday. “My heart goes out to Issa Rae I’m praying for her and her family I know that the twenty years of service that I’ve paid in the entertainment field has furthered our ability to be more successful.”
West’s response was criticized by some who pointed out that he has appeared on the show six times as a musical guest.
The rapper is running for president as an independent and has qualified to appear on several state ballots this November.
In his first campaign advertisement released last week, the Jesus is King artist said his campaign “will revive our nation’s commitment to faith.”
“By turning to faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be,” West continued.
