The Saturday Night Live 50th-anniversary special was filled with nostalgic moments and star-studded appearances, 

but one sketch in particular has become a hot topic of debate: the return of Tom Hanks’ MAGA hat-wearing character, Doug, in Black Jeopardy. 

While many praised the sketch for its satirical edge, others, including some of The View’s co-hosts, expressed mixed opinions about its portrayal of Trump supporters.

A Divided Discussion on ‘The View’

On a recent episode of The View, the panelists discussed the controversial sketch, with differing opinions on its messaging. 

Joy Behar argued that the sketch unfairly painted all Trump voters as racist, stating, 

“The fact remains that they’re making anyone who voted for Trump look like a racist, and that’s why they’re mad. I personally would never do that, because I don’t believe that any group is one thing.”

In contrast, co-host Sunny Hostin viewed the segment in a different light, calling it “a very subversive sketch… it’s about Black culture being American culture.” Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration official, dismissed the backlash, saying, “The outrage over it is a little overblown.”

Whoopi Goldberg also weighed in, reminding viewers that Hanks’ Doug character was not new and had first appeared in 2016, just weeks before Donald Trump’s election victory.

Hanks’ Doug Character: A Throwback to 2016

Tom Hanks originally played Doug in an SNL episode that aired on October 22, 2016. The character, a Trump supporter with a thick Southern accent, surprised audiences by demonstrating a deep understanding of Black American culture—something that clashed with the stereotypical expectations of a MAGA supporter.

Created by SNL writer Bryan Tucker and Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che, Black Jeopardy had been featured multiple times on the show before Hanks’ first appearance. Previous versions often depicted white contestants failing to grasp the nuances of the game. However, when Doug participated, the humor came from his unexpected alignment with the experiences and beliefs of his Black co-contestants.

In a 2018 interview with Vulture, Tucker explained that Doug’s character was inspired by real-life observations. “I know people on the right, my family included. I was noticing a lot of overlap between what some people on the right think and what some Black people think. I texted Che and said, ‘Maybe there’s something here.’”

Che added that the idea behind the sketch was to highlight the common ground between different communities. “Previously, it was always white people not getting it. And then it was like, what if [Hanks] gets the answers right, and shows that we do come from the same things? It’s not really Black Jeopardy; it’s a community of people who get these things.”

The Return of Doug in ‘SNL50’

For the SNL50 special, Black Jeopardy was revived, with Kenan Thompson reprising his role as host Darnell. This time, Hanks’ Doug was joined by an all-star lineup, including Leslie Jones, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Eddie Murphy. A major comedic twist in the segment was that none of the contestants seemed to know what SNL was.

Doug’s character followed the same pattern as in 2016, engaging with the game in ways that suggested a surprising cultural overlap. However, in a callback to his original appearance, Doug once again revealed his deeper prejudices when the game reached the “Lives That Matter” category, leading to an awkward moment.

At the end of the segment, Doug suggested creating a “White Jeopardy” for Darnell to participate in, prompting Thompson’s character to dismiss the idea, saying, “We don’t need it. We don’t need it.”

The Improvised Handshake Moment and Its Lasting Impact

One of the most memorable moments from the original 2016 Black Jeopardy sketch was an unscripted gesture by Hanks. As Thompson’s Darnell went to shake Doug’s hand, Hanks instinctively pulled back—an improvised move that reinforced the character’s underlying racial biases.

Leslie Jones later revealed in the Vulture oral history that Hanks’ reaction was completely spontaneous: “Remember when Kenan went to go shake his hand and [Hanks] stepped back? [Hanks] didn’t tell those people he was gonna do any of that.”

Tucker added, “He discovered that handshake in the moment. And Kenan also made the choice to come around the podium to shake his hand to help with that joke.”

Thompson recalled how he quickly adjusted to the unexpected moment. “My host character reaching his hand out to somebody who might unnecessarily be afraid of him — I’ve experienced things like that, so when he did it, I laughed super-hard in my mind but played it off. It was the most natural ad-lib I’ve ever done.”

Meghan McCain’s Criticism of Hanks

Not everyone was amused by the revival of Doug. Former The View co-host Meghan McCain took to social media to voice her disapproval, accusing Tom Hanks of “hate mongering.”

“Tom Hanks always wants to pretend he’s the likable everyman, but he’s as hate mongering of regular Americans as any host on MSNBC,” McCain wrote in an X post. “Good luck becoming less and less culturally relevant by the second bro.”

A Sketch That Continues to Spark Debate

The return of Black Jeopardy in SNL50 has reignited discussions about comedy, political satire, and cultural representation. While some view it as a sharp, thought-provoking critique of societal divides, others see it as an unfair attack on Trump supporters.

Regardless of perspective, the sketch has once again demonstrated SNL’s ability to spark conversation through humor—something the show has been doing for five decades.

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