Sam Jay

Sam Jay (born Samaria Johnson, January 13, 1982) is an American comedian and writer. Born in Atlanta, she grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, and studied for a degree in communications but quit due to lack of interest. After years of working in an office and as a music manager, she performed her first stand-up comedy routine in 2012, at the age of 29. She is the first Black lesbian writer for Saturday Night Live, where she worked from 2017 to 2020, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series three times.

At Saturday Night Live, Jay became the second Black lesbian to be involved with the show overall, after performer Danitra Vance. She co-wrote the fifth "Black Jeopardy" sketch in April 2018, in which the contestant is T'Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman. In 2018 she performed stand-up on Netflix's The Comedy Lineup and starred in a half-hour special for Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents. Her first Netflix stand-up special, 3 in the Morning (2020), was filmed at The Masquerade in Atlanta and received acclaim, and her special Sam Jay: Salute Me or Shoot Me was released on HBO Max in 2023.

Jay is the co-creator and co-star of the HBO comedy series Pause with Sam Jay (2021-2022), which she partnered with producer Prentice Penny to create, and the Peacock comedy series Bust Down (2022). Her other work includes appearances on Flatbush Misdemeanors (2021-2022) and Take My Wife (2016-2018), the 2023 film You People, and stand-up performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. She was one of the featured roasters at The Roast of Tom Brady, live on Netflix. Her stage persona has been described as self-aware and observational, inviting comparisons to Patrice O'Neal.