Tracy Morgan Says He Felt ‘Culturally Isolated’ His First 3 Years onSNL: ‘Whitest Show in America’

Mar. 15, 2025

Tracy Morgan and Britney Spears in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch in 2002.Photo:Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Tracy Morganwas excited to join the cast ofSaturday Night Liveback in 1996.

Feeling at home on the cast would be another story, however. The comedian came in eager to share a different perspective on the show’s 22nd season, his first.

“I wanted to show them my world, how funny it was. But the first three years, I felt like I was being culturally isolated sometimes,” he shares inSNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, the new Peacock docuseries looking back at the late night show’s storied past.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Tracy Morgan as Brian Fellows on ‘SNL’ in 2002.Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

That changed when Morgan had a conversation about his feelings with producerLorne Michaels.

“Lorne Michaels had that talk with me. He said, ‘Tracy, I hired you because you’re funny, not because you’re Black. So just do your thing.’ And that’s when I started doing my thing.”

Tracy Morgan on “Saturday Night Live” in 2002.Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Morgan is one of several cast members who watches back their audition tape during the Peacock docuseries; afterward, he says, “I don’t know what Lorne Michaels and them saw, but they saw something.”

Morgan was the ninth Black cast member to be hired onSaturday Night Live. He was a regular on the show for seven years and would later return to NBC as part of the cast of30 Rock, which ran from 2006 to 2013.

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Nightis streaming now on Peacock.

source: people.com