Is Comcast’s New NBC Anti-Gay, Anti-Trans, Anti-Black?

From the moment the Comcast takeover of NBC was approved by the FCC on January 18, there’s been trouble at peacock HQ. First, Keith Olbermann got fired. Then, Jay Leno’s anti-gay questions about Amy Poehler’s four-year old boy angered, well, most folks. And now Saturday, viewers of Saturday Night Live (SNL) were subjected to not one but two offensive skits, one trans-phobic, the other racist. Americans are wondering, is Comcast to blame?

The first offensive skit, the anti-trans “ad” for an imaginary drug, “Estro-Maxx,” was, according to Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, “an attack on transgender people.”

“Degrading, dehumanizing and ridiculing transgender people isn’t comedy,” said Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) executive director Michael Silverman.  “Saturday Night Live’s skit contributes to the toxic brew of intolerance that leads to real-life discrimination, harassment and violence for transgender people.”

Calling it “a dangerous and blatantly transphobic segment,” GLAAD was also quick to denounce the piece and demand SNL “apologize and remove the segment from Hulu and all future airings of the show,” and calling the punchline “the lives of countless transgender people across the country.”

So far, Comcast/NBC still has the segment running on their site and have not responded to either organization’s statement.

Here’s the skit:

The other offensive SNL piece Saturday was titled the “Bride of Blackenstein,” which featured Nicki Minaj. I’ll let you judge for yourself. I found it offensive, but strangely, it seems few others did.

A quick Twitter search found most comments were positive or at least not negative.

In “Viewers Weigh In On Nicki Minaj As ‘Bride of Blackenstein’,” BET could only go so far as to call viewer responses “diverse.”

“Some didn’t seem to mind lines from Minaj like, “I’m not hiding. I’m going out. It’s check day. I got an outfit on. I wanna dance, baby.”

“Others, though, didn’t like SNL guest host and The Social Network starJesse Eisenberg saying, “A ho who doesn’t know her place.”

“Indeed, a few felt one too many jokes came at the expense of black women.

“Are people overreacting or did the writers at SNL go too far?”

SNL went way too far on both. Both skits were offensive and the cast certainly should have told the writers to drop them.

What do you think? Vote here.