NBC Under Fire For Donald Trump’s Upcoming Appearance On ‘Saturday Night Live’


The decision to ask Donald Trump to host next week’s episode of Saturday Night Live has backfired, as MoveOn.org and a coalition of Hispanic advocacy groups urge the network to “Dump Trump,” Deadline Hollywood reported.

“A coalition of Latino groups and liberal online activist platform MoveOn.org are calling for NBC to disinvite GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump from hosting Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7, which happens to be exactly one year from Election Day 2016.”

According to the report, MoveOn.org’s petition, No Room For Hate On Saturday Night Live, has grown from only 15,000 signatures Friday evening to more than 117,000 and counting as of Sunday night. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda said in an open letter to SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels and NBC Universal CEO Stephen Burke that the group was “appalled” at the decision to allow the presidential hopeful to host the show, since Trump has not apologized for his “racist” rhetoric, which called for mass deportations and incorrectly labeled immigrants as little more than criminals and rapists.

“We are appalled that you would enable Trump’s hateful speech for nothing (more) than a ratings ploy and ask that you rescind the SNL invitation.”

This week Trump had no reaction to the criticism, telling Fox News that he is “doing very well with Hispanics” in the polls, but although he may remain a solid frontrunner among the expansive field of GOP hopefuls, that statement is questionable considering the long list of very public offensive comments the candidate has made about the Latino community and immigrants in general.

Last week low-wage workers and immigration reform advocates staged a Fight for $15 protest outside of Trump Tower in Chicago, where they slammed the GOP frontrunner over his anti-immigration comments and proposed policies, reported Progress Illinois.

NBC Under Fire For Donald Trump's Upcoming Appearance On 'Saturday Night Live'
[Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images News]

“Low-wage workers and their allies took particular aim at Trump for calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists during his June presidential announcement speech and proposing hard-line immigration policies.”

Trump said he wants to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented workers who are currently living and working in the U.S., prompting hundreds of activists to march from the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters to Trump Tower last week in a protest that also coincided with Columbus Day, shedding additional light on the effort to “reclaim the dignity of immigrants and indigenous people.”

As for Trump’s impending appearance on Saturday Night Live, protestors say his presence will “end up sanitizing” his racist rhetoric by blending it with the show’s characteristic humor. Felix Sanchez, chairman and co-founder of the Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, is among those who signed the letter and told the New York Post the move was hypocritical and likely to prompt further action.

“NBC Universal is being contradictory, courting Hispanic viewers with its Spanish-language platforms but giving them a ‘slap in the face’ by putting Trump on the air.”

Sanchez went on to say the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda – a group that consists of 40 regional and national civil rights and public policy groups – is fast at work reviewing further action. This could reportedly include staging additional protests the night of the telecast and ongoing calls for boycotting the show and the network.

He also asked cast members to stage their own protest or boycott, recalling the time cast member Nora Dunn, along with pop star Sinead O’Connor, refused to appear with Andrew Dice Clay, who is known for producing comedy that is degrading to women.

The Hispanic coalition has reportedly been trying to meet with Michaels since November of 2013 to discuss the lack of representation the Latino community has received on the show, but the group says it has not received a response.

[Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images]

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