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Home / Entertainment

Adele faces backlash over 'disgraceful' SNL African sex skit

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

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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.

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"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."

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#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.

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