Saturday Night Live Faces Backlash Over Chris Brown Sketch
Viewers accuse the sketch comedy show of 'glorifying' the singer, who has a history of domestic violence.
Saturday Night Live is facing criticism for a sketch featuring Knicks star Jalen Brunson that some viewers deemed unfunny and as glorifying Chris Brown. The sketch, part of the show's season 52 premiere, focused on a support group for partners whose significant others attended a concert featuring Brown and Usher.
In the skit, Brunson played a character whose girlfriend attended the Usher and Chris Brown R&B Tour. Cast member Kenan Thompson portrayed another group member whose girlfriend also went to the concert. Thompson described his girlfriend's experience, which included Usher dangling a cherry and Brown performing shirtless. Brunson's character recounted seeing a TikTok video of his girlfriend strapped to a pole and spinning, with comments expressing concern for her.
Social media users took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their disappointment. One user wrote, "the chris brown skit was not funny..." while another questioned, "Why are they talking about chris brown." A comment stated, "Snl lowkey high key glorifying Chris brown in this new sketch is so icky." Another critique read, "g** a** skit glazing chris brown smh this is why the uk version is better."
Some viewers felt the sketch missed the mark, with one user noting, "snl has several new women on their cast and they're doing an all-male skit centered around chris brown. this is why they're never beating the not funny allegations."
However, not all viewers agreed, with one person commenting, "Aye…I'm actually cackling at this Chris Brown/Usher Anonymous skit."
This controversy emerges months after Brown pleaded guilty to affray for a "vicious and unprovoked attack" with a bottle on a music producer in a London nightclub. He and his vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, are scheduled for sentencing on October 26. Brown was also convicted of felony assault in 2009 related to an incident before the Grammy Awards.
Brown and Usher began their R&B Tour in June. The tour is scheduled to conclude on December 12. The duo recently made headlines when Kanye West made a surprise guest appearance during their performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.