Kanye West says he's 'praying' for Issa Rae after she uses him as an SNL punchline

Issa Rae.
(Image credit: YouTube/Saturday Night Live)

Kanye West was not amused by Issa Rae using him as a punchline during the Oct. 17 episode of Saturday Night Live. Rae had appeared in a "Your Voice Chicago" sketch where she played an NAACP lawyer who went to great lengths to justify "voting for everybody Black" — a twist on her comment at the 2017 Emmy Awards that she was "rooting for everybody Black."

But even Rae's lawyer had her limits: "When we come back, we'll talk about the presidential race between Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kanye West," Kenan Thompson, who was playing the show's anchor, said, with an exasperated Rae blurting: "Kanye? F him."

On Sunday morning, West responded to the skit, tweeting that "I've always said SNL uses Black people to hold other Black people back," and adding: "My heart goes out to Issa Rae. I'm praying for her and her family."

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West released his first presidential campaign ad last week, less than a month before the election. In it, he claimed that "we as a people will revive our nation's commitment to faith, to what our Constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer. Through prayer, faith can be restored."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.