"Saturday Night Live" has not had a black female cast member in six years. Usually, Kenan Thompson, one of "SNL's" two black cast members, dresses in drag to portray various black females in skits, but Thomson says he's done playing dress up.

Although "SNL" may be devoid of black women, pop culture is not. As a result, Thomspon, 35, has had to portray many black celebrities including Mo'Nique, Maya Angelou, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson and Star Jones.

Thompson is not sure what "SNL" will do without him making audiences laugh in heels. There are only two other minority actors on "SNL's" 16-member cast: Jay Pharaoh, who is also black, and Nasim Pedrad, who is Iranian.

"I don't know," Thomson said in an interview with TVGuide.com. "We just haven't done them. That's what I'm saying. Maybe [Pharaoh] will do it or something, but even he doesn't really want to do it."

Thompson believes the nonexistent number of female black actresses is due to a lack of available talent.

"It's just a tough part of the business," Thompson said. "Like in auditions, they just never find ones that are ready."

It is hard to believe, however, that the black female comedian drought is that severe. Only four black females have been "SNL" cast members during its 38 years on the air: Yvonne Hudson ('80-'81), Danitra Vance ('85-'86), Ellen Cleghorne ('91-'95) and Maya Rudolph ('00-'07). Hudson was not even a regular cast member; she was a featured actress for a half a season before she was fired.

Thompson's co-actor, Pharaoh, 26, places more blame on the show's creators. The actor told theGrio that Darmirra Brunson, from Tyler Perry's "Love Thy Neighbor," is an obvious choice if the creative team seeks more diversity.

"They need to pay attention," Pharoah said. "Her name is Darmirra Brunson...Why do I think she should be on the show? Because she's black first of all, and she's really talented. She's amazing. She needs to be on 'SNL.' I said it. And I believe they need to follow up with it like they said they were going to do last year."

This season, six new comedians joined the "SNL" cast. They are all white.

"They're all contributing in different ways I think," Thompson said. "They've been doing great job so far. They're all very, very smart and talented, so that's how it is. That's the kind of people I guess that get the job."

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