"Master of None" comedian Aziz Ansari is the first South Asian American host of "Saturday Night Live" Season 42. In doing so, he is making history as its first host of South Asian descent.
According to TV Line, Ansari just recently hosted "Saturday Night Live" Season 42 with the musical guest Big Sean. Having him as a host is notable in that it bucks the sketch-comedy series' recent trend of choosing movie or sports stars over TV actors to serve as a host. "Game of Thrones" actor Peter Dinklage and "Scandal" actress Kerry Washington have been among the small-screen actors of the more than 100 people who have hosted since the 2011-2012 season.
More than 90 percent of "Saturday Night Live" hosts have been white, Washington Post reported. Only two celebrities of Asian descent, namely, "Kung Fu Yoga" action star Jackie Chan and "The Man with the Iron Fists" actress Lucy Liu, have hosted the show before.
"Saturday Night Live" has faced controversy in recent years over diversity issues. In 2013, the lack of a black female cast member led to executive producer Lorne Michael holding special auditions to hire one. He ended up hiring "Hey Girl" actress Sasheer Zamata and "Ghostbusters" comedian Leslie Jones, who was initially brought on as a writer.
"Laid in America" actress Melissa Villaseñor joined "Saturday Night Light" this year and made her the show's first Latina cast member. Meanwhile, "Scream Queens" actress Nasim Pedrad was added between 2009 and 2014 and was the show's first female Middle Eastern cast member.
Ansari won his first Emmy as an outstanding writing for a comedy series after earning a total of four nominations for his Netflix series "Masters of None." His nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series was the first for an Indian American.
Watch the video about Aziz Ansari's stand-up monologue at the "Saturday Night Live" Season 42:
