--- description: Two morning anchors try and keep up light, fluffy dialogue in the face of the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson title: Watch SNL’s Un-Aired Sketch About Ferguson image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch SNL's Un-Aired Sketch About Ferguson by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 4:19 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 4:19 PM CUT _Saturday Night Live_ released an unaired sketch from this week’s episode and it’s a doozie. In the sketch, two Ferguson-area morning anchors — one black, one white, played by Cecily Strong and Kenan Thompson —are faced with sustaining their upbeat, inane chatter in the wake of the protests over a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the death of [teenager Michael Brown](http://time.com/3598612/ferguson-grand-jury-decision-darren-wilson-michael-brown/ "undefined"). Their patter is filled with uncomfortable slips of the tongue and clear race divides that only get worse when guest chef _Daryl_ Wilson (played by host James Franco) stops by to cook up a healthy meal. While the sketch is uncomfortable and difficult to watch, it’s a shame that it was cut from the episode. Comedy has a long history of turning a lens on difficult situations and challenging people to think about events and circumstances we would rather avoid. The _SNL_ sketch also bears a striking similarity to NBC’s decision to focus on the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree rather than show the streets surrounding the building, which were [filled with protestors](http://time.com/3618159/eric-garner-chokehold-protest-photos/ "undefined") angered over the grand jury’s decision not to indict a white NYPD officer in the [death of Eric Garner](http://time.com/3619440/eric-garner-protests-erupt-across-united-states/ "undefined"). \[H/T [_Uproxx_](http://youtu.be/mVzCih9RnWg "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Watch Tina Fey Joke About Bill Cosby Rape Allegations on SNL in 2005_](http://time.com/3620097/tina-fey-bill-cosby-rape-allegations-snl/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3623295/snl-ferguson-sketch-cut-watch-james-franco-michael-brown-darren-wilson-comedy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3623295/snl-ferguson-sketch-cut-watch-james-franco-michael-brown-darren-wilson-comedy/"},"headline":"Watch SNL's Un-Aired Sketch About Ferguson","datePublished":"2014-12-08T16:19:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:05.542Z","description":"Two morning anchors try and keep up light, fluffy dialogue in the face of the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson","url":"https://time.com/3623295/snl-ferguson-sketch-cut-watch-james-franco-michael-brown-darren-wilson-comedy/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","SNL","Saturday Night Live","viral","Videos","Viral Videos","Ferguson topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3623295/snl-ferguson-sketch-cut-watch-james-franco-michael-brown-darren-wilson-comedy/","name":"Watch SNL's Un-Aired Sketch About Ferguson"}}]}] ```