SNL seeks black woman for amusing relationship

IN A RECENT "Saturday Night Live" sketch, host Kerry Washington mocked the show's lack of an African-American female performer by having to play Michele Obama and Oprah and Beyonce, running on and off stage to change dresses and wigs.

Well . . . Keenan Thompson may not have to play Whoopi Goldberg anymore, either.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, SNL recently held two showcase auditions consisting entirely of African-American women. The goal: Get someone into the cast in January.

The auditions are the first in SNL's history to focus exclusively on minority females. In 39 seasons, the show has had only two black female regulars - Ellen Cleghorne and the late Danitra Vance.

There should be at least one opening on SNL this spring when Seth Meyers replaces Jimmy Fallon who's relacing Jay Leno. Nasim Pedrad may also bolt as she's set to star in a Fox sitcom. But we hope not, because we think she's funny.

One more reason to love our Philly native music queen.

Omg.yahoo.com says that at the 2013 Billboard Women in Music Awards held earlier this week, Pink's speech brought all the attitude you'd expect.

"What do you say when someone says, 'Hey, you're woman of the year'? If you are me, you think of all the other women out there who deserve it more. Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie . . . Miley Cyrus if you're high as s--- and really into tongues."

Pink, who was accompanied by husband Carey Hart, added, "I wish to be remembered for my humor and my passion, but most of all my ability to go from angel to a--hole in 3.5 seconds."

As for her biggest inspirations, Pink said: "My husband Carey, whom I love with my whole being. I know it may come as a shock to some of you, but being married to me cannot be an easy task. We created this beautiful baby girl, who has been my greatest teacher."

Whitney Thomas, who has photographed Jill Scott, Kindred the Family Soul, Will Smith and Wendy Williams among others, will celebrate the opening of his new studio tomorrow with a "Beautiful Cool Party" beginning at 7 p.m.

That's a perfect name, given that Thomas' new space spans 1,750-square-feet and is all white with huge windows. It's beautiful and, well, cool.

The $25 donation goes toward a new photography/mentoring program that Thomas is putting together for local youngsters. That gets underway in early 2014.

"It's just about life and dealing with how you handle yourself in the world," Thomas explained. "They need that.""

The new Whitney Thomas Studio, "The W," is located in suite 505 at 1080 N. Delaware Avenue across from SugarHouse Casino.

* Another holiday season good deed? Hear the World Foundation, which provides financial help and hearing aids for hearing-impaired people across the world, has produced a beautiful celebrity calendar (photos by Bryan Adams) to help raise money.

The calendars are $40 each and feature photos with Kate Moss, Tobey Maguire, Lana Del Rey, Ben Kingsley and others.

Since most insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid don't help with hearing-aid expenses (and our older population has more people losing their hearing and we all hate yelling at dinner), Hear the World aid is exceedingly important.

More info: hear-the-world.com or CanYouHearTheWorld on Facebook.

* Looks as if this Dec. 31, Times Square is going to drop a "Wrecking Ball."

Miley Cyrus will perform there live on "New Year's Rockin' Eve."

* Theverge.com reports that Simon Pegg ("Shaun of the Dead," "Star Trek") has confirmed he will star in the comedy sci-fi movie "Absolutely Anything" with John Cleese, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam of Monty Python.

Paging Eric Idle.

Jones will direct. Robin Williams will voice a talking dog.

* Movies.yahoo.com says Lionsgate, the people who brought you "The Hunger Games," will film Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.

"Reza Aslan has written a remarkable book that manages to bring the ancient world into contemporary relief and to make a timeless story very timely," Erik Feig, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group's President of Production, said in a statement. "We are excited to create this uniquely cinematic and immersive world for moviegoers to experience."

Aslan, you may recall, is a religious-studies scholar who is also a Muslim, and it kinda freaked some people out that a Muslim would write a book about Jesus.

* Julia Louis-Dreyfus, after receiving two Golden Globe nominations for her roles in the TV series "Veep" and the movie "Enough Said": "I'm thrilled and so grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press. One question: Does this mean I need two dresses?"

Greta Gerwig, after being nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy film for "Frances Ha": "When the phone rang this morning, I silenced it and I thought, 'Ugh, who do I owe money to?' "

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report