TGIF Feature: SNL adds Chinese American comedian to its cast

SNL

Bowen Yang as Kim Jong Un.

Bowen Yang was hired by Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2018, but in the show's upcoming 45th season, he'll be moving in front of the camera.

Yang is the first Chinese American cast member for SNL He will join comedians Chloe Fineman and Shane Gillis, as SNL's new cast members.

SNL has faced criticism for not having an Asian as a member of its 18-person troupe. The last time there was a cast member of Asian descent was in 2013 when Fred Armisen, who is of Korean descent, left the show. Earlier, Rob Schneider, a Filipino American, was in the cast in the 1990s.

Yang first appeared on SNL in March, when he played Kim Jong Un in a sketch alongside host Sandra Oh.

With Yang's hire, no doubt, will likely include a return of Kim Jong Un and Presidential candidate Andrew Yang (no relation)  will likely become an equal-opportunity target for lampooning.

Besides Yang, comedians Chloe Fineman, Shane Gillis, will join the cast when the show starts its 45th season on Sept. 28.

Yang's new castmate Gillis, however, drew criticism  for previous racist comments meant to be humorous. He used an racist slur in referring to the Chinese and a derogatory terms for LGBTQ people.

Gillis response to the criticism:

"I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you're going to find a lot of bad misses," Gillis wrote. "I'm happy to apologize to anyone who's actually offended by anything I've said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks."

That's not really an apology and it didn't quiet the criticism.

CNN Opinion writer Jeff Yang tweeted that "if you want to know what being a person of color is like, it's literally that for every Bowen Yang-shaped step you take forward, you also take one racist-ass Shane Gillis-shaped step back."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misspelled Fred Armisen's name.

______________________________________________________________________