This weekend's "Saturday Night Live" lampooned the remake of the classic "Annie" musical in a skit that delved into some dicey racial territory.
The new musical features an African American child in the lead, and the anomaly of a black Annie formed the basis for last night's skit. Host Cameron Diaz filled the role of Miss Hannigan, the alcohol-soaked, libidinous, mean-spirited manager of the orphanage, while Leslie Jones played "black Annie."
When cast member Jay Pharaoh arrives as Jamie Foxx's Daddy Warbucks, he announces that he's come to see Annie. Vanessa Bayer answers the call, and when Daddy Warbucks clarifies that he wants to see the "black Annie," Bayer breaks into exaggerated ebonics, prompting Warbucks to instruct her to stop.
When Jones finally emerges, she plays the hyper-sexualized, temperamental, physically imposing, and money-hungry black woman depicted in so many racial tropes.
"Well I’m not sure you’re the little orphan girl I’m looking for Annie, but I am in need of a security guard," Pharaoh-as-Warbucks says. Jones-as-black-Annie agrees, with a few caveats.
"Only thing is, I need my money up front, and I’m only working three days, and I have three kids that you’re probably going to have to adopt too," she says.
Watch the problematic skit below, courtesy of "Saturday Night Live":
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