NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Adele faces backlash over 'disgraceful' SNL African sex skit

NZ Herald
26 Oct, 2020 06:32 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Adele has come under fire from furious Saturday Night Live viewers for taking part in a comedy skit mocking sex tourism in Africa. Video / NBC

Adele has come under fire for her Saturday Night Live performance, during which she took part in a comedy skit mocking sex tourism in Africa.

The sketch poked fun at the reported growing number of white middle-aged divorcees who travel to the continent for "no-frills sex".

In the three-minute skit, Adele and Kate McKinnon fronted an African Tourist Board ad and encouraged women to visit.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Witness the wonder, the escape, the story," urged McKinnon, while as a shirtless black man walked across the screen arm in arm with an older white woman.

"The sandy beaches. The massive bamboo," continued Adele.

We usually love a bit of #SNL but that Africa sketch was a disgrace and tone deaf. Everyone knows Adele is my fave but I'm ashamed she took part in it. 😔

— Charysse Harper (@CharysseHarper) October 25, 2020

The innuendos kept coming as Adele increasingly struggled to suppress her laughter.

"I found a deep, deep connection," she giggled.

"You can feel it in your stomach."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

#SNL Did I really just see a sketch about white women using Africa as their buffet for oversexed and overendowed African "tribesmen" who carry them around on their shoulders starring Adele fresh off a Bantu knot minstrel show outrage? Truly unbelievable. #readtheroom pic.twitter.com/wc8Yw5N2F3

— Aretha (@amightystream) October 25, 2020

Never thought I’d hate Adele and stop watching SNL but I really think that was an innappropriate sketch about “Africa”

— Masheke 🤙🏾 Made in 🇿🇲🇿🇲🇿🇲 (@MashekeMalimba) October 26, 2020

When SNL reruns this mostly-good Adele episode in a 60-minute window, that Africa sketch will end up memory-holed. Holy hell, that was cringey.

— alexquigley (@alexquigley) October 25, 2020

Was really enjoying Adele on SNL until that awful Africa sketch. Oof .

— Fern (@littlefern16) October 25, 2020

One viewer wrote: "I was actually enjoying it until the comments and the black men carrying white women around. actually felt a bit sick and couldn't enjoy the rest and I adore Adele but I wish she hadn't taken part in this skit."

Another accused it of "using black men as sex toys" and called it "highly offensive".

A third wrote: "Adele looks great for sure but the Africa skit was in poor taste tbh!"

the *only* SNL sketch where Adele couldn’t keep from laughing was an “African Tourism Board” bit where the underlying premise was a blatantly shitty racial stereotype. everyone involved ought to be ashamed of themselves.

— Allison Hussey (@allisonhussey) October 25, 2020

Earlier this year, Singing superstar Adele sparked a social media backlash with her latest near-unrecognizable Instagram post.

The photo showed the star as fans have never seen her before: clad in a Jamaican flag bikini top, a feathered embellishment on her shoulders and with her hair curled into tight knots.

adele looks like that one white chick who took a vacation to jamaica and came back with braids pic.twitter.com/j0SvtUzba1

— Debating Hip-Hop (@DebatingHipHop_) August 30, 2020

"Happy what would be Notting Hill Carnival my beloved London," she captioned the pic, a nod to London's huge annual carnival led by members of the British West Indian community, which had been canceled.

But the 32-year-old star's choice of attire — and especially a Bantu knot hairstyle usually worn by women of African descent — copped a roasting online, amid accusations of cultural appropriation.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

'One-way flight back to NZ': Kiwi DJ duo say they've been turned away from US

Auckland

LOTR stars return to NZ for Auckland's biggest pop culture expo

Entertainment

What to watch: 7 of the best TV shows to stream this weekend


Sponsored

Sponsored: Colour connections

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

'One-way flight back to NZ': Kiwi DJ duo say they've been turned away from US
Entertainment

'One-way flight back to NZ': Kiwi DJ duo say they've been turned away from US

One of the Katayanagi Twins was seen crying in a video they posted on social media.

22 Aug 06:07 AM
LOTR stars return to NZ for Auckland's biggest pop culture expo
Auckland

LOTR stars return to NZ for Auckland's biggest pop culture expo

22 Aug 02:00 AM
What to watch: 7 of the best TV shows to stream this weekend
Entertainment

What to watch: 7 of the best TV shows to stream this weekend

22 Aug 12:00 AM


Sponsored: Colour connections
Sponsored

Sponsored: Colour connections

17 Aug 04:55 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP