Tiffany Haddish's SNL Debut Reminded Us Why We All Want to See Her Win
I think most black women collectively did the Nae Nae with Tiffany Haddish, after her Saturday Night Live guest appearance this past Saturday.
The Girls Trip breakout star made history last night as the first black woman stand-up comic to host the show in its 43 seasons. And in 43 seasons, she is only the twelfth black woman to host the live sketch-comedy show. Her monologue was definitely on point, and it also made me cheer for her a little bit harder.
Tiffany has never been shy about revealing that she was the child of a woman with mental illness issues, or that she grew up in the foster system. So when a few minutes into her set, she gave thanks to tax payers, it made me laugh, and choke up a little:
Before I was in Girls Trip, I was in foster care. And I wanna say thank you to anyone who paid their taxes between 1990 amd 1999, because if you wouldn't have paid your taxes, I wouldn't be standing here today. So thank you.
I lived in a lot of group homes, and my favorite show growing up was SNL. That's my favorite show. And you don't have no idea how difficult it is to get a bunch of black and Hispanic kids to watch SNL over In Living Color, okay? Trying to convince them that Dana Carvey was just as funny as Damon Wayans was a problem. I got stabbed twice y'all! In a bunk bed!
Tiffany has come a long way, and you could tell that in that moment, she was truly thankful. She also reminded us that she's still new money, by wearing the same dress she wore to the premiere of her breakout film Girls Trip. She explained since she paid over $4000 for the McQueen dress, she will be wearing it everywhere -- including a casual Sunday brunch, a Bar Mitzvah, and her funeral.
I feel like I should be able to wear what I want, when I want, however many times I want, as long as I Febreze it.
Another highlight of her monologue was addressing what the fellas needed to hear about sexual harassment.
Listen fellas, if you got your thang-thang out and she got all her clothes on, you’re wrong! You're in the wrong! Wait till she got all her clothes off, and then pull your thang thang out. Okay?
She was given plenty of funny sketches that held true to her personality, which was pretty refreshing. She did a spot-on impressions of Mary J Blige and Cardi B auditioning for the roles in the live action "The Lion King Screen Test" sketch.
She also played Boo Boo Jeffries - a character in a Mortal Kombat-like game who hates violence; an Instagram butt model-turned movie critic, starring opposite Leslie Jones; and a touchy-feely, sneak dissing co-organizer of a cat giveaway, opposite Kate McKinnon.
But her best sketch was the too honest, rare black unicorn sketch, where she starred opposite Leslie Jones.
In the sketch, three travelers set off on a journey to find the last black unicorn. When they find one (Tiffany Haddish), the unicorn tells them about her futures, and it's all bad for them.
What I loved about the sketch, was that it may have been a bit of a reference to her actual book, The Last Black Unicorn, that's set to drop this December. Just like in her book, the hilarious sketch conveyed that life is what you make it, and even though bad things happen to you, you're not obligated to complain about it or allow it to bring you down.
She and Leslie nailed it.
Did you see Tiffany's guest appearance on SNL? What was your favorite sketch?
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Adrienne Bailon Reveals The Price Of Parenthood After Spending 'Over A Million' On IVF Treatments
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is opening up the hidden expenses behind becoming a parent.
For PEOPLE, the former Cheetah Girl spoke candidly about how she and her husband, Israel Houghton spent "easily over a million" dollars on their journey to conceive their first child together.
The former The Real host acknowledged that this hefty sum is not attainable for most people, noting, "And that is not realistic for the average person. And I recognize that.”
Adrienne Bailon-Houghton revealed that in addition to enduring several “cycles of IVF,” she underwent numerous other fertility treatments over a challenging six-year period in her journey to conceive her son.
"I only did eight cycles of IVF, but that doesn't include the amount of IUIs I did and every other kind of imaginable treatments that you could imagine for fertility," Bailon-Houghton told the publication. "So it was a pretty tough six years of trying to have my son."
For years, the 3LW singer has expressed her acceptance of waiting for motherhood to align with divine timing, despite the discouragement she faced. In 2018, she shared with her The Real co-hosts, "I've had to come to peace with that it'll happen when it's God's timing, and I believe in that, and I have faith in all of that," she said. "But it can be really discouraging, and it can be really frustrating.”
Upon announcing the arrival of her son, Ever James, via surrogate in 2022, she reflected in an Instagram caption on the challenging journey, emphasizing her gratitude for their newborn amidst years of tears, disappointments, and medical procedures.
"Our baby boy is here & we are so in love! If you have followed our love story… you know that our journey to baby has been very challenging - But God is true to His word and His promises. We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last 9 months," she wrote.
"He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything. All we feel is joy and overwhelming love & gratitude," she continued.
"Grateful to God, to our angel surrogate and to all of our friends and family who have stood with us for over 5 years on this journey. He's here and we have never been happier to lose sleep! #HappilyEverHoughton 🤍"
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Featured image by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for alice + olivia