SNL’s Black Snape Skit Satirizes Harry Potter Racism
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- Kam Patterson portrayed Professor Snape on SNL’s “Weekend Update,” delivering a sketch that references HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series.
- HBO plans a Harry Potter series in which the traditionally white Snape will be played by Black actor Paapa Essiedu, prompting the SNL parody.
- Snape (as performed by Patterson) claims Harry Potter is racist, calling him “the Proud Boy Who Lived” and alleging the school’s only Black teacher is secretly evil.
- Colin Jost jokes that the theft of the Sorcerer’s Stone points to “Black Snape” as the prime suspect, while noting a “white guy in the turban” was ignored.
- Snape mentions his “African Muggle Studies” major and critiques the wizarding world’s treatment of Black characters like Kingsley Shacklebolt, likening his name to a Wu‑Tang generator.
- Snape ends the sketch with a personal jab, saying “Your mama was thick as hell, dog,” underscoring the satirical tone on racial stereotypes.
- Snape opens the sketch with a formal greeting and jokes about “code‑switching,” mocking the idea of changing speech style to fit expectations.
Why it matters: The sketch puts SNL in the spotlight by riffing on HBO’s Black Snape casting, while giving viewers a satirical lens on the wizarding world’s racial contradictions; it foregrounds the debate over representation and highlights how the upcoming series is being examined for racial bias.
