Mayim Bialik Responds to Melanie Hutsell's Apology Over Offensive 'Saturday Night Live' Impression
Mayim Bialik, Melanie Hutsell
After Mayim Bialik shared a personal essay via Variety talking about a 1994 Saturday Night Live impression of her and her "undeniably Jewish" nose, with the comedian Melanie Hutsell wearing a prosthetic nose for the scene, Hutsell publicly apologized.
Now, Bialik has responded to Hutsell's apology with new comments. Posting a screenshot of the SNL star's response on Instagram, the Blossom star wrote, "Thank you Melanie Hutsell for this - I did not intend to disparage you or SNL and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness around this!"
"It made for an interesting essay (which I was asked to write many months ago on the topic of antisemitism) and with everything going on in the world, I’m virtually hugging you and appreciate you very much! Link in bio to read," she added.
In Bialik's original essay, she said of how the sketch made her feel: "Girls all over the world used to tell me that they had never seen a Jewish girl like me on TV before they saw me on Blossom. Many said they knew I was Jewish and it made them proud to be...I wonder how those girls felt when they saw an actress playing me with a comically prosthetic nose."
Bialik went on to consider how her experience with the SNL skit to the conversation and backlash surrounding Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Leonard Bernstein, during which he wears prosthetics to emulate the late conductor's appearance.
Following the release of Bialik's essay, Hutsell shared an apology in a statement with Entertainment Weekly, writing, "When we were preparing to do that sketch all those years ago, I was absolutely horrified that they wanted me to wear a prosthetic nose to play Mayim Bialik's character, Blossom. I knew it was wrong."
She further noted that she voiced her disagreement with the direction to wear the prosthetic nose, but "was told if I refused, I would be fired."
The Saturday Night Live alum added, "Although I had and have always had a strong moral compass, I didn't have the strength to refuse to do the sketch after I was told I would be fired."
Hutsell also recounted a time recently when she was given the opportunity to apologize to Bialik, who accepted it, with the Jeopardy! host reportedly saying, "I release you!... I'm not gonna say that I didn't feel that back then… but you know, we can let this go."
Next: Why Mayim Bialik Thinks She Would Cry as a Jeopardy! Contestant
