Governor Paterson SNL Skit Criticized By Governor, Advocates Of The Blind

Governor Paterson SNL Skit Criticized By Governor, Advocates Of The Blind

The New York Post has Governor Paterson's direct response to the Weekend Update segment that featured jokes at the expense of his blindness. The Post's lede said the governor "didn't see the humor" in the sketch.

"I can take a joke," Paterson told reporters.

But he called the SNL spoof a "third-grade depiction of people and the way they look" that could lead others to believe that "disability goes hand-in-hand with an inability to run a government or business."

"I run the place I work in, so I don't have to be worried about being discriminated against," noted Paterson

An advocacy group for the blind also denounced the sketch:

The National Federation of the Blind says it considers NBC's "Saturday Night Live" skit making fun of New York Gov. David Paterson an attack on all blind Americans.

Federation spokesman Chris Danielsen says the portrayal on Saturday's television show suggesting Paterson as befuddled and disoriented because of his blindness is "absolutely wrong."

Read more from AP here and watch the SNL skit below.

PATERSON SKETCH:

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