Megan Thee Stallion Performs 'Savage,' Says 'Protect Our Black Women' During Powerful SNL Debut

"We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, 'cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women," said Megan Thee Stallion

Megan Thee Stallion is using her hot-girl platform to slam racial injustices.

During the season 46 premiere of Saturday Night Live hosted by Chris Rock this weekend, the "WAP" rapper, 25, performed her hit remix "Savage" (featuring Beyoncé's vocals) and shared a powerful message for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Toward the end of the first song, gunshot effects took shape on the set behind Megan and her four backup dancers, with soundbites from historical and recent activists heard in the background. One quote called out Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron for his decision made last month in the case of Breonna Taylor.

The artist then took the mic for an impassioned call to action.

"We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women," she said. "'Cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women. We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, 'cause at the end of the day, we're tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men."

Concluding the showcase, Megan and the dancers held their fists high in the air, staring into the camera surrounded by applause from the audience. Later in the episode, Megan performed her steamy new single "Don't Stop" featuring Young Thug.

Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Making sure her message reached even more viewers, the rapper posted images from the performance (her first solo gig on the show) on her Instagram, writing: "Did you catch the hot girl coach on the season premiere of SNL tonight 🖤 #protectblackwomen."

The season premiere of SNL — which began with a cold-open mocking the recent presidential debate with Alec Baldwin reprising his role as President Trump and Jim Carrey making his first appearance as Vice President Joe Biden — drew its second-highest number of viewers in 12 years.

Ratings were up 26 percent from last season's opener, and with 7.8 million viewers tuning in, the show — which built a drive-in theater at Universal Studios' Hollywood backlot for a special drive-in viewing experience — became the most-watched entertainment program on broadcast networks for the week.

In July, Megan (born Megan Pete) sustained gunshot wounds to both her feet requiring surgery. Speaking out just days after the incident, she tweeted that "Black women are so unprotected & we hold so many things in to protect the feelings of others w/o considering our own."

The Houston native has been vocal in her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. She opened up to Variety in August about feeling inspired to speak out about injustices.

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"I feel like everything that's going on right now, if it hasn't moved you to speak out or try to make some type of difference, then something might be slightly wrong with you,” she told the magazine at the time. "Even though I haven't already come out with a song with that messaging, I definitely plan on it."

And in July, Megan explained to NME: "Sometimes being a public figure, you don't wanna say the wrong thing because you don't want to be insensitive to people or get too opinionated. But I will always say what I feel."

"I don't speak on things that I don't know about, and I won't speak on things I don't believe in," she added.