It was all laughs when Keri Washington hosted Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. But perhaps the biggest joke that everyone seemed to chuckle at (herself included) was in the opening skit when Washington had to frantically run back and forth, changing costumes while portraying various African American women. The big joke? She was the only black cast member there to portray the various roles.

But after the laughter dwindled, there was much criticism about the fact that there indeed were zero African American cast members.

On Thursday, a representative from the show confirmed that they’d soon be answering the complaints by casting at least one black female member. You can expect the new cast member by January of the new year.

SNL creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels, said in an interview with the Times on Thursday that he has been scoping out some talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1p6VH0dt34

“All told we’ve seen about 25 people,” Michaels said. “A lot of the people we saw are really good. Hopefully we’ll come out of the process well.”

Below is a tweet that contains a picture from one of the women who had auditioned for the show in Los Angeles.

With my girls @Breshawebb @simoneshepherd @TiffanyHaddish & other funny ladies I got to meet at our #SNL showcase 🙂 pic.twitter.com/X1D5gT2GOJ

— Gabrielle Dennis (@GabrielleDennis) December 2, 2013

The sketch comedy show hasn’t had a black female cast member since Maya Rudolph left in 2007.

Photo Credit: YouTube