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Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Friday, October 23, 2015

Some Say There’s Nothing Funny About Donald Trump Hosting SNL

The Root
By Richard Prince
October 22, 2015

Latino groups are voicing outrage at NBC for asking Donald Trump to host "Saturday Night Live" on Nov. 7, saying that if he had insulted other groups as he has Mexicans, no such invitation would be extended.

"What if all of the Latino cast members all walked off the job at 'Saturday Night Live'? Oh wait, you don't have any Latino cast members," Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez, D-Ill., said Wednesday on the House floor, Cristina Marcos reported for the Hill.

Esther J. Cepeda, a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group, wrote Wednesday, "Whether Trump reprises his hateful rhetoric on the comedy show or harmlessly buffoons his egomaniacal persona in an effort to burnish his 'straight-talking' brand matters little. What's at issue is that unless 'SNL' disinvites him, it is effectively giving a stamp of approval to his hateful views . . . ."

Cepeda also wrote, "If 'SNL' and NBC choose to continue their plan to have Trump host SNL we should see the gesture for what it is: A big '[expletive] you' to the overwhelming majority of a 55 million-strong community who have clearly articulated their disgust with The Donald."

NBC's decision to invite the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination had already raised fairness questions.

"You might be wondering, like we did, if the government’s 'equal time' rule means Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and the rest of the Republican presidential field will each get a shot at hosting the show," Katie Sanders wrote Wednesday for PunditFact, part of the PolitiFact fact-checking operation run by the Tampa Bay Times.

"The answer, PunditFact found, is no. But candidates could score some free air time in certain markets if they ask for it. . . ."

NBC has steadfastly refused to comment on the furor.

Jeremy Diamond recalled Monday for CNN, "Trump this summer called undocumented Mexican immigrants 'rapists' and 'killers' as he launched his presidential bid, quickly drawing a mixture of ire and support as he pushed on with his presidential campaign.

" 'These groups are out for themselves,' Trump said Monday morning on Fox News, before adding that he is 'leading in the polls with Hispanics' and has 'thousands of Hispanics who work for me.'

On the House floor, Gutiérrez wondered if "Saturday Night Live" would give Trump airtime if he had targeted other minority groups, Marcos reported for the Hill.

"If Donald Trump had said gays and lesbians were murderers and raping Americans, would he get to host the show? It is every bit as much a fiction and a lie," Gutiérrez said.

" ' Donald Trump has said some pretty awful things about women individually and collectively. But what if he said most women were criminals? Would the writers be thinking up sketches for Trump if he had slandered an entire gender rather than an entire ethnic group?' . . ."

Cepeda added, "A MoveOn.org petition sponsored by the immigration reform group America's Voice is asking NBC to dump Trump. . . .

"The National Council of La Raza's Janet Murguia called 'SNL's' Trump invitation a 'slap in the face' to the Latino community, but that's not quite right.

"A slap in the face could be seen as a passionate outburst — an intimate gesture implying an affront within a relationship.


" 'SNL's' paltriness in the Hispanic ensemble member department — two Latino males in 40 years — and a complete dismissal of Hispanics' complaints over an offensive 2014 skit featuring a white comedienne portraying a ditzy, overly accented Latina sexpot tell you all you need to know about 'SNL's' relationship with Hispanic audiences. . . ."

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com

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