Pakistani-American comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani made a memorable debut as the host of Saturday Night Live this week, delivering a powerful monologue in which he demolished racists (particularly the dumb ones), and tackled Islamophobia.
The Karachi-born, whose rom-com 'The Big Sick' was a big hit this summer, captured the audiences with his wry sarcasm, mixed in with intelligent humour as he addressed a number of issues revolving around his Pakistani heritage, Islam, and racism. He also took aim at internet trolls who complain about "race-mixing," and likened the resurgence of Islamophobia to the return of sit-com 'Will & Grace'.
"I came to America, fell in love with a white woman and made a movie about it," he said in his monologue about 'The Big Sick', before going on to roast the racist trolls.
"A guy said [about The Big Sick], 'I watched the whole movie. I just don't like race mixing.' First of all, nobody good ever uses the phrase 'race mixing'. Even if someone was like, 'I'm pro-race mixing', I'd be like, 'Why are you talking like that? Are you an undercover KKK... dragon?!'
"A lot of people were like, 'Go back to India,'" he told the audience about the Twitter reaction that followed the movie. "I've never been to India. Are you just hoping I'll have an awesome vacation soon?"
"My problem with most racism is the inaccuracy," he remarked. "I'm like, 'DO the research. Put in the work. You will see the benefits.
"I'll give you an example. If someone yells at me, 'Go back to India', I'll be like, 'That guy's an idiot'. If someone was like, 'Go back to Pakistan, which was part of India until 1947 and is now home to the world's oldest salt mine', I'd be like, 'This guy seems to know what he's talking about. I'll pack my bags.'
"Just because someone's racist doesn't mean they have to be ignorant. An INFORMED racist is a BETTER RACIST!"
Nanjiani also delved into the rise of Islamophobia. "Islamophobia is on the rise. It's like Will & Grace," he joked in reference to the sitcom making a return on SNL's home network. "It was huge awhile ago, we thought it was gone and done forever and now it's back!"
The latest Saturday Night Live episode, with host Kumail Nanjiani and musical guest P!nk, touched the show's highest metered-market ratings this season, surpassing the season premiere and last week's second episode.
The episode also featured Alec Baldwin's return as US President Donald Trump and a new Kellyanne Conway film-inspired digital short, this time taking on horror hit 'It'.
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