Michael Che isn’t known to shy away from controversy behind the desk of “Weekend Update” on “Saturday Night Live.” His Netflix comedy special, which begins streaming Friday, is no different.
“Michael Che Matters,” predictably, confronts discussions around the Black Lives Matter movement — including its opponents.
“They don’t tell you black lives don’t matter,” the comedian and former “Daily Show” correspondent tells his audience at Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse. “That’s not what they say — that’s not the argument. They hit you with that slick sh–. Like, well, ‘All lives matter.’ Really, semantics? That would be like if your wife came up to you and was like ‘Do you love me?’ And you’re like, ‘Baby, I love everybody, what are you talking about?’
“Why do black people always have to get over sh– so quickly?” Che continues. “Every time we bring some sh– up. Slavery. ‘Oh, that was 400 years ago.’ Segregation. ‘You guys got Black History Month out of it. We gave you February.’ Police shooting. ‘That was two weeks — come on, still?’ 9/11. ‘Oh, never forget.’ ”
Che pauses as the crowd claps and cheers. “That’s why this September, I’m getting a T-shirt that says, ‘All buildings matter.’ I’m gonna see how that works.”
The one-hour special also finds Che sharing his opinion on President-elect Donald Trump. “I actually like Donald Trump, to be honest with you,” he says, leading to a few audible boos. Che’s response? “Shut up.”
“I don’t think he should be president,” Che clarifies. “But I do think he’s … hilarious and he should be my best friend.”
The special was filmed in August, and Che tells the audience he expects Hillary Clinton to be elected president. But just for kicks, he suggests that maybe — when the country isn’t so divided, Trump should get a year in the White House.
“When we’re doing really good, when it’s safe — like when you let a baby drive a little bit,” Che jokes.
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Che noted that the special was taped before nearly a dozen women accused the then-Republican presidential nominee of touching them inappropriately or kissing them without their consent. “So much has come out about him, which makes him seem like much worse of a dude,” Che told the site, adding that “all the bits I do are basically just honest, gut reactions to what I feel hearing this news.”
Che said that aspect of comedy was much like some of the statements Trump made during his campaign, and even before he was a candidate.
“The stuff that he says about Obama? He didn’t know he’d be in this same exact position eight years later and now he has to face it,” Che told Uproxx. “And now he’s like, ‘Well, I think everybody should just be fair and stop protesting the president. I’m the president of everybody.’ And go back eight years ago and he’s like, ‘Everybody protest Obama.’ “
