Photo: Getty Images
This was too far.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Jul 30, 2021
SNL’s Michael Che is receiving backlash over cruel ‘jokes’ he shared about Olympian Simone Biles.
Che wiped his Instagram of all his photos following his insensitive posts about Biles but not before social media users got a hold of his stories, sparking outrage online.
His comments come just days after Biles, a 4-time gold medalist, pulled out of the Olympics citing mental health concerns.
What did Michael Che say about Simone Biles?
Che said, “Man, I wanna make fun of Simone Biles,” in a now-deleted story. He followed this up with “I got like 3 mins of Simone Biles jokes in my head. I’m going to the cellar tonight to say them into a microphone. As the dorky kids say, I’m choosing violence.”
Michael Che shared ‘jokes’ about Simone Biles’ sexual abuser Larry Nassar.
Following his comments, Che also shared jokes from other Instagram users and rated them.
“Larry Nassar 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,” wrote one follower.
The Tokyo Games was the first Olympics since Biles first came forward with her story of abuse at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar.
The champion gymnast also stated that her decision to go to the Olympics was born from a desire to represent her fellow survivors of Nassar’s abuse.
In response to the disgusting comment, Che wrote, “Goddamn, that’s rough. absolutely tasteless. 9/10.”
Michael Che responded to a joke about Simone Biles’ race.
Another user wrote, “Who said black don’t crack?,” to which Che responded with “Now that’s a good joke. Economical. Referential. Balanced. Good job. 8/10.”
Che is no stranger to controversial so-called jokes and recently was accused of anti-semetism after making comments about Israel. His comments about one of America’s favorite and most talented athletes have, unsurprisingly, struck a nerve.
Needless to say, many of Biles’ supporters rushed to her defense on social media in response to Che’s unnecessary and, quite frankly, unamusing posts.
Michael Che claims he was ‘hacked.’
As outrage ensued online, Che had a less-than-believable explanation for his controversial Instagram stories.
“maaannnn, i got hacked today. cant believe they got me. yall kno i only do jokes about whites and cops. s’all good now, i changed my password and everything..anyway, ya’ll hear about dababy tho..? thats crazy..iight. see yall at church. imma get there early,” he wrote, referencing the homophobic comments made by rapper DaBaby this week.
Soon after, Che deleted all of his stories about Biles and the alleged hacking and wiped his entire Instagram profile of all images.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her Twitter for more.