Tracy Morgan is getting candid about feeling “culturally isolated” during his early days at Saturday Night Live.
The comedian and actor, who was a castmember on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series from 1996 to 2003, shared on the Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night that while he was excited to join the show, it took some time to feel at home.
“I wanted to show them my world, how funny it was. But the first three years, I felt like I was being culturally isolated sometimes,” Morgan said before adding, “I’m coming from a world of Blacks. I’m an inner-city kid. To be on the whitest show in America, I felt by myself. I felt like they weren’t getting it”.
The 30 Rock alum said things got better after he opened up to SNL creator Lorne Michaels about how he was feeling.
“Lorne Michaels had that talk with me,” he recalled. “He said, ‘Tracy, I hired you because you’re funny, not because you’re Black. So just do your thing.’ And that’s when I started doing my thing.’”
During his time on SNL, Morgan originated several iconic characters, including Brian Fellow, Dominican Lou, Astronaut Jones, African Andy and Benny the Bengal, among others. After leaving the show, he went on to star in Tina Fey’s 30 Rock as well as several movies, including Cop Out, Superhero Movie, Coming 2 America and Death At A Funeral.
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night explores the show’s iconic past, showcasing the audition process, writing, infamous sketches and the pivotal 11th season that cemented the show’s DNA under Michaels’ leadership. During the docuseries, Damon Wayans also opened up about his reason for “purposefully” getting himself fired from SNL following his short run on the show in the ’80s.
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