Michael Che sparked backlash after his account posted "trash" jokes about gymnast Simone Biles, but now he says it wasn't him that wrote the roasts.
"man, I want to make fun of simone biles," read one of his Instagram stories, according to NBC News. The screenshots, which have not been independently verified by E! News, were shared on the BallerAlert Twitter account.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics team finals and individual all-around finals this week to prioritize her mental health. She received support from fellow athletes and celebrities for her bravery.
But the Saturday Night Live comedian appears to have had a different take, according to the screenshots. A message shared to Che's account read, "I got like 3 mins of simone biles jokes in my head. im going to the cellar tonight to say them into a microphone. as the dorky kids say, im choosing violence."
Per NBC News, his account responded to someone else's racist joke about her with an 8 out of 10 rating, saying, "good job." It also shared another user's joke about Larry Nassar, the disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor and convicted sexual abuser, and responded, "Goddamn that's rough, absolutely tasteless 9/10."
Simone came forward in 2018 about her experience with Nassar, alleging on social media, "I too am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused." She wrote, "It is impossibly difficult to relive these experiences and it breaks my heart even more to think that as I work towards my dream of competing in Tokyo 2020, I will have to continually return to the same training facility where I was abused."
After facing criticism for the insensitive posts, Che wrote on his Instagram Story that it wasn't him making the jokes about Biles. "maaannnn, i got hacked today. cant believe they got me," he said. "yall know i only do jokes about whites and cops. s'all good now, i changed my password and everything."
He went on to say, "anyway yall hear about dababy tho.. ? Thats crazy .. iight. see yall at church. imma get there early."
Che was referring to another controversial figure, DaBaby, who spoke negatively towards the LGBTQ+ community during a recent performance in Miami, which caused his collaborator Dua Lipa to say she was "surprised and horrified" by the rapper's comments.
DaBaby tweeted on July 27, "Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y'all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies."
E! News reached out to SNL and Che's rep for comment and did not hear back.
Che responded to media reports on his Instagram Story on July 30, writing, "im f--king ruined." He also posted a picture to his Instagram feed that read, "somebody just threw doodoo at me!"
Twitter users commented on BallerAlert's screenshots with one saying, "He's been begging for us to hate him." Another said, "Sexual abuse is not a joke."
Within the past few years, Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography charges, 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing girls and another 40 to 125 years in prison for seven counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree.
"The words expressed by everyone that has spoken, including the parents, has impacted me to my innermost core," Nassar said in court during his third sentencing in 2018. "With that being said, I understand and acknowledge that it pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotions that you all are feeling. It's impossible to convey the depth and breadth of how sorry I am to each and every one involved. The visions of your testimonies will forever be present in my thoughts."
(E! News is owned by NBCUniversal and SNL is aired on NBC.)