Former Saturday Night Live star Jay Pharoah guested on HOT 97’s morning show, and he had a lot to say about his former employer, as well as many fond memories of his recently passed friend, Charlie Murphy.
The entire 38-minute clip of Pharoah’s appearance is below, and the entire thing is well worth a listen.
In the interview, Pharoah also mentions he was almost fired once before he actually left – for speaking out about the show’s lack of black female cast members.
The actor describes feeling “underutilized” on the show, which he starred on for six seasons. As Deadline transcribes, Pharoah said: “If you have multiple people on the cast saying things like ‘you’re so talented, you’re so able, they don’t use you and it’s unfair and it’s making us feel bad… They put people into boxes. Whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do,” he added. “I’m a little fiery too… I’m not a yes n***a.”
Last year, SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels gave a slightly more diplomatic answer for the firings (Taran Killam went at the same time), saying: “Change is the lifeblood of the show; it always has been. And you have to keep bringing new people in. Hopefully it’s for the best.”
Pharoah’s doing just fine, though – within the same week he left SNL, he was cast in Jamie Foxx’s forthcoming new Showtime series, White Famous, out soon.
