Michael Che - H 2014
AP ImagesComedian and Saturday Night Live castmember Michael Che was criticized on social media for Instagram and Facebook posts reacting to a viral video about street harassment.
While the posts linked to on Che’s Twitter account appear to be deleted, several news outlets, including Salon and Business Insider, captured screenshots and published them in critical stories about the comedian.
What kickstarted Che’s reaction was a video, “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman,” by Shoshana B. Roberts and Rob Bliss, that shows Roberts being catcalled and verbally harassed by men more than 100 times as she walks around New York City. It has been watched more than 17.3 million times on YouTube as of this writing.
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After seeing the video, Che posted this on Twitter:
i just saw the catcalling video & i am disgusted. http://t.co/VoKhk8YieR
— Michael Che (@CheThinks) October 29, 2014
i think some of u are misunderstanding that post. im simply just making fun of something that is important to a lot of people.
— Michael Che (@CheThinks) October 29, 2014
He later added:
i just read my instagram. i am DISGUSTED. http://t.co/tbhLz8BGCu
— Michael Che (@CheThinks) October 29, 2014
Che’s Instagram posts have been deleted. He also posted a Facebook status update that compared sexual harassment to the crazed reactions SNL fans have when they see Che on the street.
The Facebook status has since been deleted, but Business Insider captured a screenshot in which Che wrote, “i wanna apologize to all the women that ive harrassed with statements like ‘hi’ or ‘have a nice day’ or ‘youre beautiful’. i cant imagine what that must feel like. the closest thing I’ve experienced is maybe when a girl recognizes me from tv and they say things like ‘AHHHH!! OH MY GOD!! SNL SNL SNL!! TAKE A PICTURE!! TAKE A PICTURE!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! WHATS YOUR NAME AGAIN?! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! WAIT SAY SOMETHING FUNNY!!’ but even that is nothing like the harrassment of having a complete stranger tell me to ‘smile.'”
A representative for SNL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Here’s the video that spurred Che’s posts.
