The uproar around Michael Che’s joke isn’t really about one Weekend Update line; it’s about a country trying to process state violence in real time. For some, dark humor is the only way to look directly at something unbearable. For others, any laugh track laid over fresh blood feels like complicity, a way of smoothing the edges of a reality that should stay sharp.
SNL has always walked that dangerous line, turning headlines into sketches while families are still planning funerals. This time, the timing collided with raw grief over Alex Pretti’s killing and the growing fear around ICE’s power. The clash in the comments – from “take a stand” to “the show must go on” – reveals a deeper question with no easy answer: when tragedy is constant, is comedy a lifeline, or just another way to look away?
