Donald Glover Is Glad ‘SNL’ Turned Him Down

[hewontgo]

Donald Glover Is Glad ‘SNL’ Turned Him Down: It ‘Would Have Killed Me’ https://t.co/udPF1K6aCv pic.twitter.com/acxT3Vm6I1
- IndieWire (@IndieWire) April 4, 2023

Donald Glover is thankful to not have been cast on “Saturday Night Live.”
He was turned down from the live sketch series after auditioning in both 2007 and 2009.

“I dodged so many bullets

Comments

[dandyxwarhol]

Anyone know more about the Tina Fey thing? Not much more at the sauce

[floatinglately]

idk the details but they wrote this into a 30 rock ep when toofer finds out his salary comes out of a diversity initiative - idr if donald glover wrote that episode or if he was still on the show

[tanglespiders]

it was in the 4th season, after he was on community

[jemgirl90]

Anyone know more about the Tina Fey thing?

He said: ‘I wondered, Am I being hired just because I’m black?’

In the article, the writer confirmed when speaking with Fey ‘the answer was in large part yes; she admired Glover’s talent but hired him because funds from NBC’s Diversity Initiative “made him free.”‘

https://metro.co.uk/2018/02/27/donald-glover-hired-tina-fey-free-7347191/

[genbu_no_miko24]

Was parks and rec considered hipster back then?

[firstknivesclub]

it was like the indie office when it first started out if I remember correctly

[genbu_no_miko24]

I see that but I don’t remember the “indie” or “hipster” titles towards it.

[jesuisjuan]

It's weird, but indie folks just loved Parks and Rec, Skins, The Office, and Shameless during the 2010's Tumblr era with their beanies, side bangs, and hard-ons for Zooey Deschanel's "music." I think it was their love for April's character, since she kind of was the stoic, rebel teenage intern character.

[dull_and_wicked]

it's so weird that donald glover and kenya barris would have been up for the same gigs considering there's a 10 year age difference between them. that's the last person i expected him to mention lol

[filmstudent23]

I’m not trying to make fun of him cuz he has a valid point and his career wouldn’t be what it is if he was on SNL but they way he put it made me lol. It’s like me saying “thank God I didn’t win a million dollars. That would’ve made me not find a job”

He doesn’t know what SNL could’ve turn his career into.

[hiimtish]

I feel like he’s saying his career is exactly where he wants it to be and if he’s gotten SNL it would be a totally different beast

[genbu_no_miko24]

Would it though? Cause SNL track record with black cast members doesn’t seem strong. The black players always seemed underused unless one of them manages to strike gold with a skit. The most they get used is when a Black host is picked.

SNL has been on for 48 years and I think Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock are probably the MOST successful black men to come off that show.

So maybe he’s got a point about not getting the gig.

[zipster]

SNL cast members really haven't transcended past SNL for a while

[jearsinsears]

god i hope people stop giving kenya barris money to keep making the same horrible show