SNL’s First Latina Cast Member Is Caught Deleting Thousands of Tweets, Some of Which Were ‘Racist and Offensive’

When Saturday Night Live announced that it was hiring its first ever Latina cast member last week, it was landmark moment in the history of the show.

Mexican-American comedian Melissa Villaseñor, 28, is part of a minority that is sorely represented when it comes to the likes of mainstream comedy.

Yet her recruiting already has dark clouds swirling overhead after a writer for Grist, Aura Bogado tweeted that Villaseñor had quickly gone through her entire Twitter history to delete more than 2,000 tweets over the course of a week.

‘I’m excited about the first latina on SNL but not gonna lie: deleting 2K tweets in 5 days is… odd.’ Bogado posted on Twitter.

Bogado went further and managed to reveal that some of Villaseñor’s postings consisted of racist material, primarily against blacks and Asians.

In one tweet Villaseñor said she was afraid to date black men.

‘Coworker at forever 21 dates black guys and she said she will set me up on a blind date for valentines, I said yes but I’m scared.’

In another, she wrote about an ‘ugly,’ ‘bossy black lady’ at her job.

That tweet from more than six years ago read: ‘A bossy black lady at my temp job right now looks exactly like steve erkel. Ugly’.

‘Jolly black people are the best! Just laughed with one right now,’ Villaseñor also tweeted in November 2011.

Others have also managed to take screenshots of the comedian’s offensive rantings, yet SNL and Villaseñor have so far refused to make any official comment or apology.

Writer April Reign, who also helped to dig into some of Villaseñor’s past tweets, spoke of her disappointment in the whole affair.

‘Many of us were looking forward to the first Latina to join the ‘SNL’ cast in its over 40 year history. This is long overdue,’ Reign told The Huffington Post.

‘Jokes often go too far and are subjective. The line comedians walk is a thin one. But what I see in Melissa’s statements, in some cases, aren’t jokes but racist and anti-Black statements,’ Reign said.
‘Because neither Melissa nor ‘SNL’ have decided to comment, we are left to wonder if she understands why her tweets are harmful or if she feels any remorse. It is unfortunate that what began as a celebratory occasion is now overshadowed.’

The Post makes the point that Villaseñor’s rush to delete her offensive tweets and then silence highlights an ‘anti-blackness’ that can often be perpetuated in the comedy.

The site notes that there is often a sense among some people that racist jokes are only ‘racist’ when white people make them, but Villaseñor’s case demonstrated that it isn’t always the case.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Villaseñor for comment.

NBC announced earlier this month that Villaseñor was joining SNL for its upcoming 42nd season.
The Whittier, California native has appeared on the club and college comedy circuit nationwide.
She also was a finalist on season six of America’s Got Talent in 2011.

Villaseñor impressed the AGT judges with her rapid-fire impersonations of Barbara Walters, Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera.

She also has performed with Mas Mejor, a digital platform from SNL producer’s Lorne Michael’s company Broadway Video aimed at finding new Latino talent.

Mikey Day and Alex Moffat also will be joining SNL for its upcoming season premiere on October 1 after SNL said farewell last month to Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah.