Saturday Night Live: Aziz Ansari explains the rise of the 'lowercase kkk' in scorching monologue

'Don't tweet about me being lame, or the show being shame. Write a speech, a real speech. Because these people are out there, and it's pissing a lot of people off'

Aziz Ansari had a pretty tough job ahead of him on Saturday Night Live, delivering the opening monologue of the very first show since Donald Trump took the presidency.

What he delivered, however, was exactly what we needed to hear: a message that could unite, could make us laugh, and give us hope all at the same time.

Ansari chose not to attack Trump head-on, instead urging him to deliver a definitive statement against what he termed the 'lowercase kkk', a product of the normalisation of racism and bigotry under Trump's banner of leadership.

"I think Trump should make a speech," Ansari stated. "A real speech denouncing the 'lowercase kkk'. Don't tweet about me being lame, or the show being shame. Write a speech, a real speech. Because these people are out there, and it's pissing a lot of people off. And I think you could make a difference."

Ansari then went on to point out that presidents have made these kinds of speeches in the past, visibly reducing the levels of hate crimes, citing George W. Bush's speech after 9/11 as a particular example. "It's not about politics, it's about basic human decency, and remembering why the country was founded in the first place," he added.

"If you're excited about Trump, great. He's president, let's hope he does a great job," Ansari concluded with. "If you're scared about Trump and you're very worried, you're going to be OK, too. Because, if you look at our country's history, change doesn't come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people."

"And if day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen. Good luck to you."

Ansari's opening was also a landmark in Saturday Night Live's own history, as the comedian was the first person of South Asian descent to take on hosting duties.