Overview
- On Saturday’s Weekend Update, Kam Patterson appeared as Snape and joked that Harry Potter was “racist as hell.”
- The bit riffed on HBO’s recasting of Severus Snape with Paapa Essiedu, a Black actor, in the forthcoming TV series.
- Essiedu said in March he received racist abuse and death threats over the role, according to reports citing his interview with The Times.
- The sketch poked at the optics of Harry suspecting the “only Black teacher,” the naming of Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the franchise’s house‑elf slavery.
- Reaction swelled on X following the late‑March trailer as commentators pressed for careful adaptation choices ahead of a release window reported for the Christmas season.