Michael Che lashed out at mean-spirited celebrations of the end of SNAP benefits on Saturday, calling the end of government assistance for grocery purchases “really f**ked up.”
The “Saturday Night Live” star posted a note to Instagram after seeing “a lotta racist videos celebrating (mostly black) families not being able to buy groceries.” He said that the gleeful way people were talking about families going hungry didn’t sit right with him and pushed back against the idea of widespread fraud among beneficiaries.
“There’s this weird idea that since some people have taken advantage of welfare benefits in the hood, NOBODY should receive help, at all?” he wrote.”This country is built on greedy motherf**kers taking shortcuts and gaming the system to their benefit, but for some reason, when poor people find a way to turn nickel into a dime, they’re judged more severely.”
The comedian has starred on “SNL” for over a decade, serving as a co-head writer for the program from 2017 to 2022, but he struggled before becoming a famous face. In his post, Che opened up about receiving government assistance as a child and the shame he felt.
“I grew up on free cheese and powdered milk and waiting for your friends to leave the store so they won’t see me pay with stamps,” he wrote. “That s**t ain’t as glamorous as it sounds. I promise.”
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Read more
about SNAP
The post “Ain’t as glamorous as it sounds”: Che shares history with assistance as SNAP benefits freeze appeared first on Salon.com.
