During one segment of the \u201cBlack Jeopardy\u201d skit, Hanks appeared very reluctant to shake the hand of Kenan Thompson\u2019s character, Darnell Hayes, who is Black.<\/p>\n
The backlash on social media was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter,\u201d former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aide Link Lauren\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on X. \u201cTrump won the popular vote. This tired trope that MAGA is racist is disgusting. SNL is an unfunny show for snobbish liberal elites.<\/p>\n nother X user wrote, \u201cSNL\u2019s desperate attempt to smear Trump supporters as racist is tired and pathetic. Maybe if they focused on being funny instead of pushing an agenda, they wouldn\u2019t be tanking in ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n Another user said, \u201cI used to have so much respect for @tomhanks as an actor. Now, I can\u2019t bear to watch any of his movies- even from the 80s. I just cannot accept how he can disrespect half the country. Tom, you should have stayed neutral and just entertained because you established yourself as an entertainer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTom Hanks just came out on the\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a050th anniversary special in a MAGA hat, doing a skit, where he acted like he didn\u2019t want to shake a black man\u2019s hand,\u201d one wrote on X. \u201cThis is why\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a0is in the toilet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great skit until Tom Hanks showed up,\u201d said one critic, while another claimed it\u2019s \u201calso why his career is tanking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo one in the audience laughs as Tom Hanks appears on\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a0as a racist Trump supporter that refuses to shake hands with a black man,\u201d added another.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was rather disgusting,\u201d one wrote. \u201cWhat a tool. What a disgrace @nbcsnl to decide to exclude an audience of millions who grew up watching your programming.\u201d<\/p>\n No doubt the skit was risky given Trump\u2019s\u00a0enduring popularity<\/a>\u00a0and approval throughout the country.<\/p>\n