#’I Was Not Intending to Troll’

Debra Messing has said she “was not intending to troll” in a recent tweet about Kim Kardashian hosting Saturday Night Live.

The Will & Grace star opened up on Tamron Hall on Wednesday, October 20, apologizing to those who might have taken her tweet the wrong way. In the tweet, Messing questioned why Kardashian was chosen to host the NBC sketch show, writing, “Why Kim Kardashian? I mean, I know she is a cultural icon, but SNL has hosts, generally, who are performers who are there to promote a film, TV show, or album launch. Am I missing something?”

Why Kim Kardashian? I mean, I know she is a cultural icon, but SNL has hosts, generally, who are performers who are there to promote a film, TV show, or album launch. Am I missing something? https://t.co/WYrobkv8Fi

— Debra Messing✍🏻 (@DebraMessing) September 22, 2021

“I was not intending to troll her, and if anybody took it that way, I apologize. That was never my intention,” Messing told Hall. “[Kardashian] is this phenomenon. She’s a cultural icon.”

The Emmy-winning actress noted that she was surprised by the change in the long-running show’s usual format. “I am someone who grew up with SNL. I love comedy. They have had for decades this sort of formula, and I noticed that they changed the formula,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh, does she have a new TV show coming out? Does she have a book coming out? Does she have a movie?’ And she didn’t have anything coming out; actually, her TV show had just wrapped.”

Messing’s main worry was that she had somehow missed a new Kardashian project. “I was just confused, and I thought, ‘I have been living under a rock, I don’t have my finger on the pulse of pop culture,’” she said. “So I was like, ‘Has she been doing something on the side that I’m not aware of because I’ve been so focused on activism?’ Clearly it was interpreted differently.”

Some fans felt that Messing was taking a shot at Kardashian, with one Twitter user writing, “I mean, have YOU ever been on SNL? According to Wikipedia, you haven’t… It feels like you are hating out of jealousy. Also, why attack the only woman announced as a host?”

As for Messing’s thoughts on Kardashian’s SNL performance, she was a big fan. “I thought she was amazing and I was rooting for her,” she stated. “If you know me and you follow me, then you know that I consistently lift up women. I support women, so I hope that people understand that that was never my intention.”

Tamron Hall, Weekdays, check local listings