“Somebody stole something… and the number-one suspect is Black Snape?”

Snape calls Harry Potter ‘racist as hell’ in SNL sketch mocking new HBO series: ‘The Proud Boy Who Lived’

"Somebody stole something… and the number-one suspect is Black Snape?"

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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April 5, 2026 1:00 p.m. ET

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Kam Patterson as Professor Snape on 'SNL'; Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter in HBO's upcoming series. Credit:

NBC; Aidan Monaghan/HBO

*Saturday Night Live* is diving headfirst into the discourse surrounding one of *Harry Potter*'s most controversial casting choices.

During the sketch show's latest "Weekend Update" segment, Kam Patterson stepped into the role of Professor Snape — a nod to the upcoming HBO series casting a Black actor, Paapa Essiedu, to play the previously white character — and like many Potter fans and critics, *SNL* had some interesting observations to share about the change.

"Good evening, Mr. Jost," Patterson began, appearing as Snape and trying out a faux-British accent. Immediately dropping it, he quipped, "Nah, I'm playing. I don't talk like that, bro. It's called code-switching. *Codio switchio!*"

Jost then asked how Snapes' year has gone at Hogwarts, to which Snape replied, "Not great. We got this new kid. His name is Harry Potter, and he's racist as hell."

As the crowd laughed, he explained, "Harry Potter — or, the *Proud* Boy Who Lived — spent the whole year telling everybody that the school's only Black teacher was secretly evil."

Kam Patterson as Professor Snape calls Harry Potter 'racist' on 'SNL'.

Pointing to the plot of the first *Harry Potter* book, Jost responded, "I think he's just worried because he knows someone's trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone."

"So. Somebody stole something…" Snape began slowly, prompting more laughter from the audience. "...And the number-one suspect is Black Snape?"

Showing a picture of the first movie's actual villain, Professor Quirrell, he continued, "They didn't even look at the white guy in the turban! So offensive. He's got wizard Hitler on the back of his head!"

Offering some sympathy, Jost replied, "I'm really sorry that he just jumped to conclusions like that." To which Snape replied, "It happens all the time."

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Laying out a few other issues — such as the decision to have Snape teach "the *Dark* arts" — Patterson's Snape declared, "The whole Wizarding World is racist. There's *one* other Black guy, Kingsley Shacklebolt, a name I'm guessing they got out of the Wu-Tang name generator."

After complaining that they dressed Shacklebolt as "a Haitian cab driver," he asked, "And why they got to put 'shackle' in his name? That's crazy, man. Shackle? Shackle!"

To this, Jost reluctantly said, "Well, for the very first time I'm starting to think J.K. Rowling might be problematic."

Paapa Essiedu on 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

Lara Cornell/HBO

But Snape wasn't done lamenting his issues with the Wizarding World, complaining, "We have magic, we have wands that can do anything, and people in my world still have slaves."

When Jost argued that they aren't slaves, but rather "house elves," Snape replied, "Yes, some folk got house elves. I bet you didn't know they got *field* elves, too. They didn't put that in the book, huh, Colin?"

Ending his rant, Snape directly addressed a certain Hogwarts student. Turning dramatically to the camera, he said, "I do have one final thing I'd like to say to Harry Potter… Boy, your mama was thick as hell, dog. I miss her so much."

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Essiedu's casting has been a source of controversy for the adaptation — one of many. After the Black actor was chosen for the role, some were quick to point out that altering the character's race changes the dynamic of his interactions with the young protagonist, who mistrusts the Potions professor without much evidence to back up his assumptions. Fans and critics alike have speculated about whether or not the show will address those implications, especially as the series goes on to cover the character's dark and complicated backstory.

At the same time, the casting sparked a wave of racist backlash against the actor, who is English and of Ghanian descent, with detractors arguing that the character was written as white and should remain so.

Essiedu recently revealed the extent of the hatred he's received online, which has included actual death threats. "I've been told, 'Quit, or I'll murder you,'" the actor said in an interview with U.K. outlet *The Times* in March. "The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, 'I'm going to come to your house and kill you.' While I hope I'll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job."

Watch *SNL* parody the new *Harry Potter* series' casting in the "Weekend Update"* *clip above.

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