Hey, racists! Kumail Nanjiani would take you a little more seriously if you could just get it right.
Over the weekend, the Pakistani American comedian, fresh off the summer success of his indie romantic comedy The Big Sick, performed hosting duties on Saturday Night Live. During the opening monologue, he delivered a hilarious, timely standup set, taking on racism and... more racism.
Among other things, he pointed out the very real fact that Sikhs are often targeted with Islamophobic violence, mistaken for Muslims. This is a challenging thing to joke about, but Kumail just slays it. He also clarifies what bothers him most about racism: the inaccuracy. Racists, you're just not coming at this with correct information -- and it's not working out for you.
"I'm like, do the research," Kumail says. "Put in the work. You will see the benefits!"
Check it out:
In 43 seasons of Saturday Night Live, Nanjiani is only the second person of South Asian descent to host the perennial sketch show. Aziz Ansari hosted last year. The paltry list of past Asian hosts also includes Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan and Bruno Mars. How long do you think we'll have to wait until the next one comes along?
To see more sketches from Kumail Nanjiani's episode of Saturday Night Live, go here.
