Comedian Michael Che is garnering a ton of backlash for insensitive jokes shared on his Instagram about legendary gymnast Simone Biles.
The Saturday Night Live cast member, who has been under fire before, has come under the most fire yet in his career for allegedly making and co-signing crude jokes about Olympian Simone Biles.
The iconic gymnast recently withdrew from the team competitions at the Tokyo Olympcs to focus on her mental health, a move that earned her an outpouring of support from fans and mental health advocates.
Che, however, allegedly made comments on his Instagram that doubled down on the minority of tasteless commentary being made about Biles deciding to put her mental health first. In his now-deleted stories, Che allegedly wrote about his desire to make jokes about Biles.
“man, i wanna make fun of simone biles,” he allegedly wrote. “i got like 3 mins of simone biles jokes in my head. im going to the cellar tonight to say them into a microphone. as the dorky kids say, im choosing violence.”
He also allegedly posted a joke from someone online who wrote, “Larry [Nassar] understands Simone Biles better than anyone. He too had to quit doing what he loved at the pinnacle of his career because of mounting pressure.”
Che allegedly commented “that’s rough. absolutely tasteless. 9/10.”
Nassar is the disgraced gymnastics coach accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of girls under his watch, including Biles.
Another joke he allegedly reposted read, “Okay so i am shivering while typing this..but you are encouraging me. “Who said black don’t crack?”
Che allegedly commented, “now that’s a good joke. economical. referential. balanced. good job. 8/10.”
Michael Che come on bro smh pic.twitter.com/vi1Zz07yu0
— BallerAlert (@balleralert) July 29, 2021
After a swift backlash online, Che then claimed he was hacked.
“maaannnn, i got hacked today. cant believe they got me,” he wrote. “yall kno i only do jokes about whites and cops. s’all good now, i cahnged my password and everything..anyway, yall hear about dababy tho..? thats crazy..iight. see yall at church. imma get there early.”
— BallerAlert (@balleralert) July 30, 2021
But, seeing how Che has made tasteless jokes before, the internet didn’t believe Che’s excuse for a second. People also called for Saturday Night Live and HBO Max, which currently airs That Damn Michael Che, to fire Che for his alleged comments.
Michael Che is trash. https://t.co/q4XQmcX4AV
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 30, 2021
Not Michael Che using the same IG font as his “hacker” pic.twitter.com/k1LSySumd5
— MeganTheeStallion’sPatella (@KirkWrites79) July 30, 2021
Yes @nbcsnl @nbc is on hiatus, but doesn’t Michael Che have an @HBO deal too? It’d be a great time to act on all the big talk of listening to Black women, and drop that talent-free wastrel who constantly maligns us. We have receipts for years but this latest stunt is inexcusable.
— @PiaGlenn (@PiaGlenn) July 30, 2021
Michael Che comes for people he thinks he can get away with dunking on. Trans women, Black women, sexual assault survivors. Judging by his flimsy “I got hacked” defense, it seems he had no idea how beloved Simone Biles is, or just how messed up it is to share a Larry Nasser joke.
— Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) July 30, 2021
Michael Che is despicable but I doubt he’ll face any repercussions because everybody knows he didn’t get hacked and everybody knows this entire industry doesn’t care about Black women and girls.
— Candice Marie Benbow (@CandiceBenbow) July 30, 2021
Michael Che comes for people he thinks he can get away with dunking on. Trans women, Black women, sexual assault survivors. Judging by his flimsy “I got hacked” defense, it seems he had no idea how beloved Simone Biles is, or just how messed up it is to share a Larry Nasser joke.
— Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) July 30, 2021
Michael Che catching the person that hacked his Instagram account: pic.twitter.com/hHyw2zB0PN
— Slagatha Snarkness (@RogueRunnerPGH) July 30, 2021
Michael Che is trash and him deleting everything and claiming he was hacked is such a cowardly move. https://t.co/AinmlBCQ1k
— Wendy Harris – Supporter of Bonnet Wearers! (@originalwharris) July 30, 2021
How nice for Michael Che never to have been denied the sanctity of his own body because of his gender.
— A Shady Dame From Seville (@SorayaMcDonald) July 30, 2021
How nice for him not to be judged and gaslit repeatedly because it is routine to treat an entire gender and their experiences with disregard and contempt.
How lovely for him.
Michael Che sharing that rape joke about Simon Biles reminds me of this:
— Wagatwe Wanjuki (@wagatwe) July 30, 2021
Rape jokes are often used to “put a woman in her place”https://t.co/OZEM37pByM pic.twitter.com/Ainqts9nqC
This is the most offensive of Che’s line of questionable behavior. Che had been previously dinged for sexist remarks on Saturday Night Live, and one of his skits about Gen Z came under fire for making jokes about AAVE. He has also supported disgraced comedian Louis CK‘s failed attempts at coming back to the mainstream, despite CK’s sexual harassment allegations. And last year, he went on an online tirade over a television critic not giving his HBO Max series a completely favorable review.