Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch discuss the career challenges they faced after SNL

The Daily Beast

Gasteyer and Dratch, who co-wrote and co-star in Comedy Central's Hallmark Christmas movie parody A Clüsterfünke Christmas, tell The Last Laugh podcast that they didn't face sexism when they were on Saturday Night Live because there was a strong female contingent on the show back then, including head writer Tina Fey. "I don’t want to get too political about it, but look, after (you leave the show) is probably where the rubber meets the road on some sexism," says Gasteyer. "That’s true," adds Dratch. "The opportunities afforded to our peers, not that they’re undeserving—but that’s one of the reasons I did Broadway, because I was like, I don’t really want to fight for the three parts that are going to be out there," says Gasteyer. "I left the show in 2002. It was a very different world before Kristen (Wiig) wrote Bridesmaids. And even for a few years thereafter. I think opportunities like this movie that Rachel and I have written are becoming more and more prevalent all the time, but I’m not sure, honestly, that we would have been able to sell it 15 years ago. I think the landscape’s changed significantly, but I’ve been off the show now for 19 years. So I would say just graduating from the show, I was really blatantly told—just to get dirty about it—by a big male comedy manager, “You’re not going to work in film, we need to try to get you a TV deal.” And frankly, it was all wives at that point. So it has changed. It has changed partially because of people like Tina and Amy (Poehler) and our colleagues who have pushed that boulder uphill."