Megan Thee Stallion uses maiden SNL performance to call out racial injustice

Megan Thee Stallion used her debut performance at Saturday Night Live to send a strong message against racial injustice.

During her performance of her hit "Savage," Megan Thee Stallion shared a powerful message for the Black Lives Matter movement and even called out Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron for his decision in the Breonna Taylor case, reports People.

Toward the end of the first song, the "WAP" rapper and her four background dancers stood in front of a backdrop that said, "protect Black women." At the same time, the sounds of gunshots rang out while the musician and her dancers paused as audio recording from Malcolm X's 1962 speech "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?" played in the background.

"The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman. Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair, the color of your skin, the shape of your nose? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?" Malcolm X was heard saying in the recording.

The clip was followed by audio from activist Tamika Mallory who called out Cameron for his decision to not seek charges against officers in Breonna Taylor's shooting case. "Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout Negroes that sold our people into slavery," Mallory said in the clip.

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was reportedly killed when Louisville Metro Police Department officers opened fire while executing a search warrant at her apartment. The exchange of fire begun after her boyfriend fired what he said was a warning shot because he thought the plainclothes officers were intruders.

Cameron, the first African American to hold Kentucky's attorney general post and a rising star in the Republican Party, had ruled that officers Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, two of the three officers who fired shots at Taylor, "were justified in their acts and their conduct" because they were defending themselves.

As her performance reached the end, Megan herself spoke about the violence against Black people, saying: "We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women. 'Cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women."

"We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, because at the end of the day, we're tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men," the 25-year-old said.

Stallion, real name Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, was performing during the season 46 premiere of SNL hosted by Chris Rock, which also marks SNL's return to a live audience at Studio 8H after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Megan's performance comes just months after she sustained gunshot wounds to both her feet requiring surgery.