‘SNL’: Megan Thee Stallion Applauded for ‘Protect Black Women’ Declaration During ‘Savage’ Performance

Megan Thee Stallion was the musical guest on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend, and her powerful “protect Black women” message is still making waves on social media. The rapper started with a performance of her hit song “Savage,” and in between verses, she gave new meaning to the title with a speech about systemic racism. This display included stylized set-pieces reading: “protect Black women.”

Megan Thee Stallion’s song cut out during her performance for audio clips of speeches by Malcolm X and activist Tamika Mallory, as the set back-lighting Megan and her dancers turned from white and black to red and black. In his decades-old soundbite, Malcolm X said: “the most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman,” while Mallory’s clip was a condemnation of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron for his handling of the Breonna Taylor case. Megan herself then chimed in: “we need to protect our Black women, and love our Black women, because, at the end of the day, we need our Black women.”

“We need to protect our Black men, and stand up for our Black men, because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags about our Black men,” she added, before launching back into the chorus of her song.

This performance was the highlight of the night for some SNL viewers who came to the show expecting timely political satire and commentary. Many spent hours dissecting the soundbites, the set other nuances of this rendition of “Savage.” Here is a look at the response to Megan Thee Stallion‘s “protect Black women” performance on Saturday.

‘At All Costs’

Energy

Important

Daniel Cameron

Creative Team

True Activism

Men