Simone Biles withdrew from all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this week to protect her mental health. “We have to focus on ourselves because at the end of the day, we’re human too,” the gymnast said. “We have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.” Instead of applauding her difficult decision, SNL cast member Michael Che shared a tasteless joke about Biles being sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
“man, i wanna make fun of Simone Biles,” the “Weekend Update” co-anchor wrote in an Instagram Story posted on Thursday night. “I got like 3 mins of simone biles jokes in my head. im going to the cellar tonight to say them into a microphone. as the dorky kids say, im choosing violence.” Che didn’t share any of his material — instead, he shared jokes he received from his followers via direct message, and commented on them.
Michael Che come on bro smh pic.twitter.com/vi1Zz07yu0
— BallerAlert (@balleralert) July 29, 2021
One person wrote, “Larry Nasser [sic] understands Simone Biles better than anyone. He too had to quit doing what he loved at the pinnacle of his career because of mounting pressure,” which Che called “rough” and “absolutely tasteless” and gave it a 9 out of 10. Another follower said, “Okay so I am shivering while typing this.. but you are encouraging me. Who said black don’t crack?” Che captioned it, “now thats a good joke. economical. referential. balanced. good job. 8/10.” He later claimed he was hacked.
Che also posted an Instagram story claiming his account had been hacked.
“maaannnnn, i got hacked today. cant believe they got me,” read the story, which was also shared on Twitter. “yall know i only do jokes about whites and cops. s’all good now i changed my password and everything.. anyway, yall hear about dababy tho..? thats crazy. iight. see yall at church. imma get there early.
No one believed him.
Michael Che catching the person that hacked his Instagram account: pic.twitter.com/hHyw2zB0PN
— Slagatha Snarkness (@RogueRunnerPGH) July 30, 2021
Michael Che comes for people he thinks he can get away with dunking on. Trans women, Black women, sexual assault survivors. Judging by his flimsy “I got hacked” defense, it seems he had no idea how beloved Simone Biles is, or just how messed up it is to share a Larry Nasser joke.
— Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) July 30, 2021
Michael Che is trash and him deleting everything and claiming he was hacked is such a cowardly move. https://t.co/AinmlBCQ1k
— Wendy Harris – Supporter of Bonnet Wearers! (@originalwharris) July 30, 2021
People are also over his tired attempt at being “edgy.”
I saw Michael Che at SF Clusterfest in 2019. He was the headliner, with three openers. He froze about five minutes into his set and then spent the next fifteen minutes staring at us silently. Maybe he should try being more like Simone next time. https://t.co/2kojnKKM8c
— the cacophony behind you (@uberpreeya) July 30, 2021
Michael Che is trash. https://t.co/q4XQmcX4AV
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 30, 2021
How nice for Michael Che never to have been denied the sanctity of his own body because of his gender.
How nice for him not to be judged and gaslit repeatedly because it is routine to treat an entire gender and their experiences with disregard and contempt.
How lovely for him.
— A Shady Dame From Seville (@SorayaMcDonald) July 30, 2021
Michael Che – and all of these tacky ass clowns who call themselves comedians need to keep Simone’s name out their damb mouths.
— Black Women’s Lives Matter. Carolyn Hinds (@CarrieCnh12) July 30, 2021
Michael Che sharing that rape joke about Simon Biles reminds me of this:
Rape jokes are often used to “put a woman in her place”https://t.co/OZEM37pByM pic.twitter.com/Ainqts9nqC
— Wagatwe Wanjuki
(@wagatwe) July 30, 2021
Yes @nbcsnl @nbc is on hiatus, but doesn’t Michael Che have an @HBO deal too? It’d be a great time to act on all the big talk of listening to Black women, and drop that talent-free wastrel who constantly maligns us. We have receipts for years but this latest stunt is inexcusable.
— @PiaGlenn (@PiaGlenn) July 30, 2021
Michael Che been tryna jump immediately into his “edgy Dave Chappelle” phase without spending all the time Dave did actually being funny.
— Pro Poverty P (@DrunkUncleP) July 30, 2021
Michael Che using Simone Biles’ trauma as a punchline when she’s one of the gymnasts who was sexually abused by Larry Nassar is the most repulsive attempt at humor by any mainstream comedian pic.twitter.com/AjYTtovcIL
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 30, 2021
Michael Che can go to hell for making disgusting rape jokes about Simone Biles. Then wiped his IG clean like nothing happened. Y’all get mad when we say black men do not protect or respect black women and y’all show ya asses everyday to prove us right.
— Samara
(@MizzSamz) July 30, 2021
So is SNL gonna do something about Michael Che or what? I don’t think this is something that can just be ignored. This is disturbing and wrong.
— Vivi (@vivi_in_italia) July 30, 2021
(Via Newsweek)