{"id":22073,"date":"2025-02-18T03:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T03:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=22073"},"modified":"2025-02-18T03:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T03:33:20","slug":"tom-hanks-leaves-trump-supporters-furious-following-snl-50-sketch-he-insulted-me-and-77-million-other-viewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=22073","title":{"rendered":"Tom Hanks leaves Trump supporters furious following ‘SNL 50’ sketch: ‘He insulted me and 77 million other viewers’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tom Hanks has found himself at the center of controversy after reviving his “Black Jeopardy” character, Doug, on Saturday Night Live\u2019s 50th anniversary special.<\/p>\n

Doug \u2014 a clueless, MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporter \u2014 was first introduced in 2016, intended to highlight both the differences and unexpected similarities between Trump voters and Black culture.<\/p>\n

\"ScreenshotTom Hanks’ return to SNL did not go down well with a portion of the audience. Credit: SNL\/NBC\/X<\/em><\/p>\n

But when SNL and the Hollywood icon brought Doug back for the star-studded anniversary celebration, many Trump supporters weren\u2019t laughing.<\/p>\n

Instead, they blasted Hanks and SNL, accusing them of peddling a tired and divisive stereotype, especially in light of Trump\u2019s recent gains with diverse voters and his popular vote victory in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

The Scene That Sparked Outrage<\/h3>\n

In the new version of the sketch, Hanks\u2019 Doug takes the stage, but this time, he refuses to shake hands with host Darnell Hayes, played by Kenan Thompson.<\/p>\n

That moment was enough to ignite a firestorm online, with critics slamming both the show and Hanks for what they saw as an unfair and outdated portrayal of Trump voters.<\/p>\n

Former RFK Jr. aide Link Lauren didn\u2019t hold back, calling the bit “disgusting” and accusing SNL of refusing to evolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter,\u201d he\u00a0wrote<\/a>. \u201cTrump won the popular vote. This tired trope that MAGA is racist is disgusting. SNL is an unfunny show for snobbish liberal elites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right-wing influencer Dominick McGee\u00a0took aim<\/a>\u00a0directly at Hanks: \u201cTom Hanks was just disrespecting every Republican on SNL as he was dressed up as a Trump supporter with a MAGA hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GettyImages-2197675841.jpg\"Trump supporters were left furious. Credit: Chip Somodevilla \/ Getty<\/em><\/p>\n

One angered viewer\u00a0tweeted<\/a>: “So not funny and Tom Hanks insulted me and 77 million other viewers.”<\/p>\n

And another X user\u00a0added<\/a>: “This trope of portraying the majority of the country as \u201cracist\u201d is so annoying, old, and divisive. Glad I\u2019m not watching this tonight.”<\/p>\n

Another critic noticed what they saw as a lack of laughter from the audience,\u00a0writing<\/a>: \u201cNo one in the audience laughs as Tom Hanks appears on SNL as a racist Trump supporter that refuses to shake hands with a Black man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump Fans Call Out SNL\u2019s \u2018Declining Viewership\u2019<\/h3>\n

Beyond the criticism of Hanks, Trump supporters used the moment to highlight what they claim is SNL’s sinking relevance.<\/p>\n

\"GettyImages-1913165582.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Tom Hanks’ character sparks backlash. Credit: Michael Buckner \/ Getty<\/em><\/p>\n

A pro-Trump account on X (formerly Twitter) posted: \u201cTom Hanks and SNL thought it would be hilarious for him to put on a MAGA hat and act out a stereotype of half the country in a desperate attempt to cope with Democrats’ crushing defeat in November. Not surprising no one watches SNL or NBC anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, there were also plenty of viewers who found Hanks’ portrayal amusing, with\u00a0some<\/a>\u00a0X users taking joy at seeing MAGA supporters “crying and losing their s**t” over the sketch.<\/p>\n

SNL, however, didn\u2019t stop at just one Trump joke during the three-and-a-half-hour special, which featured Cher, Bad Bunny, Adam Sandler, Scarlett Johansson, Eddie Murphy, and many more.<\/p>\n

More Swipes at Trump Throughout the Night<\/h3>\n

The political shots started almost immediately in the broadcast.<\/p>\n

Veteran comedian Steve Martin kicked things off with a reference to Trump\u2019s recent renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe I made it here in time. It was only a few days ago that Lorne [Michaels] told me I was doing the monologue, and I was actually vacationing on a friend\u2019s boat down in the Gulf of Steve Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in the monologue, Martin\u2019s Only Murders in the Building co-star Martin Short joined him on stage\u2014only to become the punchline of another political joke.<\/p>\n

Martin pretended to call ICE on Short, who is Canadian, yelling: \u201cDo you have your passport on you? ICE, get him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Actors dressed as ICE agents then hauled Short off the stage, as he frantically shouted: \u201cNo! I\u2019ll name names! Mike Myers! Jim Carrey!\u201d<\/p>\n

And one of the most direct digs at Trump came during a parody of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Mis\u00e9rables.<\/p>\n

\"GettyImages-2195127253.jpg\"There were plenty of gags made about Donald Trump this past Saturday. Credit: Chip Somodevilla \/ Getty<\/em><\/p>\n

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A cast member sang about New York\u2019s drastic changes, including a not-so-subtle jab at Trump leaving Manhattan: \u201cI dreamed a dream that King Kong died, then I remembered he’s in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is SNL Stuck in the Past?<\/h3>\n

SNL has never shied away from political humor, but critics argue that its constant portrayal of Trump voters as racist caricatures is outdated and out of touch \u2014 especially given Trump’s increasingly diverse support base, and the fact he won the presidential election by a majority.<\/p>\n

Although there were plenty of nostalgic laughs last night, one has to still wonder – with its ratings steadily declining, the debate remains: is SNL still a cultural powerhouse, or has it lost its comedic edge by recycling the same political tropes?<\/p>\n

Either way, one thing is certain \u2014 Hanks’ return as Doug has reignited the age-old battle between SNL and conservative America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tom Hanks has found himself at the center of controversy after reviving his “Black Jeopardy” character, Doug, on Saturday Night Live\u2019s 50th anniversary special. Doug \u2014 a clueless, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22073"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22074,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073\/revisions\/22074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}