Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che have finally started to fall into a comfortable rhythm on the late night stage. This weekend, the writers even gave newbie Che some tougher material, having him address the Bill Cosby controversy that is currently taking the Internet by storm. Check it out, below.
While “Weekend Update” often covers oddball news stories along with viral stories, taking a humorous tone to describe what’s going on, this week the segment tackled some tougher material when Che brought up Bill Cosby. The veteran comedian has been in the news all week this week, after more than a dozen women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assaults over the years. It’s hard to make those accusations funny, but it’s also difficult to see how “Weekend Update” could just skip over the biggest news story of the week. So, Che capably turns the bit into a complaint about Cosby’s actions having ramifications for fans of Cliff Huxtable.
"Hey Bill Cosby, pull your damn pants up… I've always wanted to say that. In the wake of allegations against Bill Cosby, TV Land pulled all reruns of The Cosby Show. I don’t know how to feel about that, because I don’t know Bill Cosby, but Cliff Huxtable practically raised me--I love that dude--and the only thing he tried to sneak when people were asleep was a hoagie.”
Bill Cosby’s actions have harmed the reputation of one of TV most iconic characters, Cliff Huxtable, who for years brought laughter to network TV. Reruns of the show have aired in the years subsequent, but this week, TV Land stated that episodes of The Cosby Show have been pulled from the channel following all of the bad press related to the comedian. Che does note that one day there might be hope for The Cosby Show's reputation, however.
“So while I may never forgive Bill Cosby, I hope maybe someday I can forgive Dr Huxtable. I mean, I know it’s not the same thing, but I forgave Kramer.”
TV Land’s certainly not the only TV outlet to distance itself from Bill Cosby. Earlier this week, the streaming service Netflix announced it has shelved the Bill Cosby comedy special, Bill Cosby 77, until further notice. NBC also had a sitcom starring Cosby in the works, but decided to drop the project following Netflix’s decision. While many of the allegations that have come to light stem from events that occurred decades ago, as more and more stories have surfaced, it’s easy to see why companies might be distancing themselves from the comedian. Unfortunately, the headlines keep coming and coming, and even NBC's SNL can’t help but get its two cents in.
