Megan Thee Stallion calls out injustice against Black women in ‘SNL’ performance
Megan Thee Stallion delivered a politically charged performance of “Savage” for the Season 46 premiere of “SNL” on Saturday, taking a moment to protest the Breonna Taylor ruling and injustice against Black women.
The rapper performed a remix of her chart-topping song in front of a black screen emblazoned with the message “Protect Black Women” (and later bullet holes), pausing midway to play audio clips from Malcolm X’s famous “Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?” speech from 1962 as well as one from activist Tamika Mallory.
“Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout Negros that sold our people into slavery,” Mallory could be heard saying, referring to the Kentucky Atty. Gen. who led the Taylor case. Taylor was killed in her apartment in March by Louisville police officers. A grand jury failed to charge any of the officers involved.
Megan Thee Stallion also played two clips from the Malcolm X speech: “The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman,” and “Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? The color of your skin? The shape of your nose? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?”
The rapper’s message felt particularly resonant in the wake of her recent dustup with Tory Lanez. She has publicly accused the rapper of shooting her in both feet after an argument in July, even briefly posting photos of her injured feet after she was not initially believed. Lanez has denied the accusations; nor has she been charged.
“We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, because at the end of the day, we need our Black women,” Megan said. “We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men.”
Host Chris Rock and musical guest Megan Thee Stallion marked the return of “SNL,” which was — for better and for worse — as “SNL” as ever.
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