Everyone has their favorite character Tom Hanks has played. Whether it is the innocent Forrest Gump or the terrified Chuck Noland from Cast Away. We all have an affinity for a certain character.<\/p>\n
However, Tom Hanks recently reprised an old character of his and not everyone was happy with the decision. Keep reading to learn more.<\/p>\n
Tom Hanks joined the dozens of other stars who appeared on this weekend\u2019s episode of Saturday Night Live. This weekend, SNL celebrated its 50th anniversary and in celebration aired a three hour long special episode.<\/p>\n
Hanks appeared in the sketch Black Jeopardy. He wore the signature red MAGA hat and portrayed a character named Doug with folksy, conservative energy. This is not the first time Hanks has played the character.<\/p>\n
Kenan Thompson brought back a long-running sketch on the show which is a parody of the long-running game show Jeopardy! Hanks appeared on the sketch as Doug.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf more folks went to church, we wouldn\u2019t be in this mess we\u2019re in now,\u201d Hanks said with a dramatic southern drawl.<\/p>\n
Thompson\u2019s plays Darnell Hayes, the host of the show who agrees with Doug walked toward him for a handshake.<\/p>\n
To which Doug recoils and says, \u201cDon\u2019t like that, whoa, whoa, whoa.\u201d urging Hayes to respond, \u201cIt\u2019s just a handshake.\u201d Doug eventually offers up his hands for the handshake.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll start a show for you to come on and we\u2019ll call it \u2018White Jeopardy,\u2019\u201d Doug then adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need it,\u201d Darnell Hayes replies.<\/p>\n
A lot of people however found issue with Hanks\u2019 portrayal of Doug.<\/p>\n
\u201cTom Hanks just came out on the SNL 50th anniversary special in a MAGA hat, doing a skit, where he acted like he didn\u2019t want to shake a black man\u2019s hand,\u201d one user wrote on X. \u201cThis is why SNL is in the toilet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others called him a racist for the character. One user wrote, \u201cTom Hanks is a racist for weaponizing racism. We\u2019re sick of your racist agenda Tom, how can you disrespect your own heritage like that? Elite POS\u201d<\/p>\n
Another one wrote about how they felt the portrayal of Doug by Hanks was offensive, \u201cFaux Tom Hanks just came out on the SNL 50th anniversary special in a MAGA hat, doing a skit, where he acted like he didn\u2019t want to shake a black man\u2019s hand. This is why SNL is in the toilet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others thought that the sketch and character were divisive with one person writing, \u201cTom Hanks\u2019 SNL skit was a letdown. Cringe, tone-deaf, and divisive. Do better, SNL.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three-hour live special had a spate of sketches and the Black Jeopardy sketch was one of the first ones aired. The other characters in the sketch included Leslie Jones as Shanice, Tracy Morgan as Darius and Eddie Murphy as the person right beside him, Tracy Morgan.
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ozgunhaberler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-010923.png\")
\nThe sketch starts with Thompson saying: \u201cWelcome to \u2018Black Jeopardy,\u2019 the only \u2018Jeopardy\u2019 where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick\u2019s halftime performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Rock was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993 and also appeared briefly as the host.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hanks first appeared as Doug almost a decade ago in a 2016 segment for the same sketch. In that sketch, Doug\u2019s character similarly hesitates to shake the host\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
The character and sketch were written by then-co-head writers Bryan Tucker and Michael Che.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am white, but during the formative times in my life, the comedians that I really enjoyed were always black,\u201d Tucker said in an interview to Vulture in 2018.<\/p>\n
In the same interview, Kenan Thompson took a moment to praise Hank\u2019s portrayal of Doug and said that the actor had done a great job at making the character more \u2018human.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHim playing a character that was so far on the other side of the aisle, it was super-bold,\u201d the comedian said in the interview.<\/p>\n
Tucker also revealed that the hesitation Doug displays for the handshake was an in-the-moment decision Hank had made.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he did it, I laughed super-hard in my mind but played it off,\u201d Thompson recalled of the moment. \u201cIt was the most natural ad-lib I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tucker also recalled how Hanks had told them Oprah had called him to talk about the sketch which according to Tucker was \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n
It seems like the opinions of Tom Hanks\u2019 character of Doug are very divisive. What do you think of this sketch? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n
Tom Hanks is often referred to as a national treasure because of how widely adored he is all over the country. The actor has had a long spanning career, playing dozens of memorable characters. Everyone has their favorite character Tom Hanks has played. Whether it is the innocent Forrest Gump or the terrified Chuck Noland…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n