Maya Rudolph has a "hard time with mean comedy"

Speaking to Town and Country magazine, she explained: "I have a really hard time with mean comedy. Those things that are like, 'Oh, I'm being funny, but I'm making fun of you?' I can't watch it. I can't stomach it. And it doesn't feel good coming out of me."

Maya recalled developing a character during her early years on 'Saturday Night Live' that was based on a friend's "annoying girlfriend".

She added: "You're in a room like this, and you're seeing somebody really obnoxious, and you think, 'Oh my god, that would make a great character'. And then you write it, and you realise, I don't want to hear this person talk."

Maya joined the cast of 'Saturday Night Live' in 2000, and she's confessed to being inspired by Beyonce.

The award-winning star was about to embark on her solo career around that time, and Maya relished the challenge of trying to emulate Beyonce on screen.

Maya - who is the daughter of Minnie Riperton and composer Richard Rudolph - explained: "I think a lot of my impressions come from watching people because I love them and I'm obsessed with them, and I want to be them somehow.

"So when I started getting to play Beyonce, I felt like, I know how to do this. Because it's the same thing I did when I was little. You're dressing up like a princess. You put on the leotard and some weird scarf, and you're like, 'This is my beautiful ball gown.'"