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Kevin Hart hosted “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend and in one of the funnier skits, he played the Oscar-nominated star of “Beasts Of The Southern Wild,” Quvenzhane Wallis. While I laughed at his portrayal of her infamous muscle-flexing move, I couldn’t help but think, “There goes another Black man searching for crossover success in Hollywood.” Black actors dressing in drag for laughs has been a debate ever since the 70’s when Flip Wilson found popularity in his sassy female character, Geraldine Jones.

Must Read: Kevin Hart Hosts ‘SNL’: Quvenzhane Wallis Is The New Pope

Fellow funnyman, Dave Chappelle said in an appearance on Oprah, “I connect dots that maybe shouldn’t be connected. When I see that they put every Black man in a dress at some point in his career, I be connecting the dots, like why do brothers always have to wear a dress?” He goes on to say, “You’ve got to take a stand.”

Check Out Dave Chappelle’s Story Of Refusing To Wear A Dress:

Chappelle made it a point that he’d never put on a dress for laughs because he think it’s unnecessary because he’s already funny. However, other comedians like Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy and Tyler Perry have no qualms putting on a dress for our entertainment and it seems “TV’s First Black Superstar,” Flip Wilson was the man who started it all. During “The Flip Wilson” show, he’d put on a pair of pantyhose and his finest dress and deliver side-splitting laughs.

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.