The old standing rule of humor states that if you are going to poke fun at a group, you must be a member of that group, otherwise it's not funny. Or at least, it's not tasteful.
Now there is a new rule! According to some, when engaging in satire, you can only satirize someone who matches your exact racial and ethnic background. Otherwise, it's out of line.
We learn today that some people were miffed that on Saturday Night Live last week, Fred Armisen,
played Barack Obama in the debate sketch. This is bad, we're told, because Fred Armisen is not African-American. Incidentally, Armisen is biracial too, but the wrong kind; he's half white and half Asian. Since his ethnicity only matches with Obama's halfway, the sketch would have been better served by Kenan Thompson, whose ethnicity technically also only matches with Obama's halfway. Kenan Thompson is probably the least talented current castmember and doesn't really
resemble Barack Obama.
With this new standard, I guess Maya Rudolph can only satirize people with an African American mother and a Jewish father.
No more Donatella Versace skits! She's not qualified.
I don't remember a response to this below sketch from last year, which seems to be a little more edgy and also has an actor whose ethnicity does not match his subject's:
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