The rapper and her dancers stood in front of a backdrop that said “protect Black women.”
About halfway through her performance, the sounds of gunshots rang out and Megan Thee Stallion and her dancers paused as audio recording from Malcolm X’s 1962 speech “Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?” played in the background.
“The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman,” clips from the recording sounded. “Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair, the color of your skin, the shape of your nose? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?”
Then there was an audio clip of activist Tamika Mallory saying, “Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout Negroes that sold our people into slavery.”
Cameron, the first African American to hold the state’s attorney general post and a rising star in the Republican Party, did not seek charges against officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting. He also said that officers Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, two of the three officers who fired shots that night, “were justified in their acts and their conduct” because they were defending themselves.
Former Det. Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment because some of the shots he fired allegedly entered a neighboring apartment, where three people were present. He has pleaded not guilty.
Cameron did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Before finishing the song, Megan Thee Stallion also spoke out herself, demanding the protection of Black men and women.
“We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women. ‘Cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women,” she said. “We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men.”
Louisville Metro Police Department officers fatally shot Taylor on March 13 while executing a search warrant at her apartment. Gunfire broke out after her boyfriend fired what he said was a warning shot because he thought the plainclothes officers were intruders. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was killed when officers opened fire.
“SNL” returned to a live studio audience at Studio 8H for the 46th season premiere, hosted by Chris Rock, after months away because of the coronavirus pandemic. The late-night show also featured a sketch taking on this week’s presidential debate between President Donald Trump, played by Alec Baldwin, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who was played by Jim Carrey.
source: cnn.com
