‘SNL’ apparently reinstates writer Katie Rich, suspended for Trump gag

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“Saturday Night Live” writer Katie Rich. | Leslie Adkins/For the Sun-Times

Chicago-born comedian Katie Rich, who was suspended from her job writing for “Saturday Night Live” in January after tweeting a controversial joke about President Donald Trump’s young son, appears to be back at work.

There’s no confirmation from Rich or NBC, but Rich was one of 12 writers listed in the credits of Thursday’s “Weekend Update: Summer Edition,” a short-run, prime-time comedy show filling the gap until “SNL” returns this fall.

Since joining “SNL” in December 2013, Rich had worked mostly with the Update team, writing jokes about the week’s news. That abruptly stopped when, on the day of Trump’s inauguration, she tweeted that 10-year-old Barron Trump “will be this country’s first homeschool shooter.”

Outrage ensued as people on social media accused her of bullying a child, and a #FireKatieRich hashtag trended.

NBC responded by suspending her ahead of that weekend’s “SNL” episode, and she had not appeared in the credits since.

The president later called her post “a disgrace.” Aside from tweeting an apology about the joke, which she called “offensive” and “inexcusable,” Rich has made no public comments about the issue. She did not reply to a Sun-Times email Thursday, and NBC declined comment.

Before joining “SNL,” Rich was a Chicago actor who improvised at iO and was in the casts that wrote and performed three Second City mainstage shows.

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