- On Saturday night, Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya took the Saturday Night Live stage for his first time hosting the iconic sketch comedy show.
- The 32-year-old actor opened the show with a biting, timely monologue that addressed racism and took aim at the royal family following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent revelation that an unidentified member of The Firm expressed concerns about "how dark [their son's] skin might be when he is born" before the couple welcomed their son, Archie, in 2019.
- "First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking, 'Oh no, he’s not Black — he’s British,'" the London-born actor joked before adding, "Basically I’m what the royal family was worried the baby would look like."
Daniel Kaluuya made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this weekend and it's fair to say he absolutely crushed it.
The 32-year-old actor, who is currently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah, started the evening on a high note with a biting monologue that took aim racism, the British royal family, and the technical difficulties during his own Golden Globes acceptance speech.
"First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking, 'Oh no, he’s not Black — he’s British,'" the London-born actor joked before adding, "Basically I’m what the royal family was worried the baby would look like."
The joke was, of course, a reference to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple revealed that an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed concerns over "how dark [their son's] skin might be when he is born." Kaluuya continued on with the subject of race and, specifically, how people often ask him which is worse, British or American racism.
"Let me put it this way," Kaluuya said. "British racism is so bad, white people left. They wanted to be free — free to create their own kind of racism. So that’s why they created Australia, South Africa—and Boston."
Watch Kaluuya's full SNL monologue for yourself below:
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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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