Comedian James Adomian Is Calling Out ‘Saturday Night Live’ for Its Longstanding Lack of Queer Representation

James Adomian is one of the funniest comedians working today. If you’re a podcast fan, you probably know him from his multiple Comedy Bang! Bang! appearances, his appearances on Chapo Trap House or his absolutely brilliant turn as Tom Leykis on With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus. You may have also seen his amazing Bernie Sanders impression on @Midnight. However, despite being amazingly talented, he’s never made it onto Saturday Night Live despite auditioning multiple times. So why has there never been a James Adomian SNL episode? Adomian says it’s because he’s openly gay.

Adomian points out that in the entire run of SNL, there’s been exactly one openly gay performer. That would be Terry Sweeney (remember him?), who only lasted one season in 1985-1986. Chris Kelly became the first openly gay co-head writer in 2016, but he left SNL one year later.

Though SNL says Adomian never passed the audition phase because he wasn’t the right fit, the openly gay comedian isn’t the only one claiming Adomian was the victim of homophobia. Jake Weisman, the star and co-creator of Corporate on Comedy Central, has explicitly said it as well. He told The Daily Beast Adomian didn’t get hired “Because he’s gay. Because they’re bigoted.”

Adomian himself isn’t quite as direct, saying, “It certainly didn’t help that I was openly gay. I think that Lorne Michaels is afraid of America’s dads.” He adds that he doesn’t think most TV executives are overtly homophobic. Instead, he calls them cowards who say, “I’m not homophobic, but I’m afraid that my audience is.”

While it may sound like Adomian is complaining about his own career, he clarifies, “There are still so many steps that need to happen for gay representation. So I’m playing this game for future generations. I probably cannot reap the benefits of what needs to happen. I’m 38 now.”

If you’re wondering which gay comedians Adomian would like to see become “household names,” he points out a few in particular: Daniel Webb, Anthony Desamito and Hornet contributor Drew Droege.

Read the full Daily Beast interview, where Adomian also talks about SNL‘s sketch-stealing and his beef with Alec Baldwin here.

What do you think of the James Adomian SNL allegations? Let us know in the comments!

Featured photo by Luke Fontana