List of Saturday Night Live incidents

As a live sketch comedy show, NBC's Saturday Night Live (officially abbreviated SNL) has had a number of technical problems, performer mishaps, and controversial content. Several hosts and musical guests have received negative press due to their appearances on the program, including musician Sinéad O'Connor, comedian Andrew Dice Clay, magnate Donald Trump, and the bands Rage Against the Machine and Fear. In the course of the show's forty-year history, several technical issues have occurred live on air, most notably with singer Ashlee Simpson. Other times, controversial content has been edited out of syndicated reruns and online-distributed editions of the show, including coarse language. The show has "banned" certain hosts, and also been accused of plagiarism.

Technical issues

Ashlee Simpson

Singer Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing during her first appearance as musical guest.

Ashlee Simpson appeared as a musical guest on the October 23, 2004 episode with Jude Law as host. Her first performance, "Pieces of Me", was performed without incident, but when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for "Pieces of Me" were heard again—before she had even raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson began to do an impromptu jig, and then left the stage.[1] During the closing of the show, Simpson appeared with Law and said: "I feel so bad. My band started playing the wrong song. I didn't know what to do so I thought I'd do a hoedown."[2]

On October 25, Simpson explained that due to complications arising from severe acid reflux disease, she had completely lost her voice and her doctor had advised her not to sing. Her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance after she had suffered vocal issues during rehearsals.[3] Simpson stated of the incident, "I made a complete fool of myself." According to Simpson, the drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played.[4] Lorne Michaels had been unaware of the plan to use lip synching, and said in an interview with 60 Minutes that he would not have allowed it had he been consulted.[3] Simpson is the only musical guest ever to walk off stage during a live performance.[3]

Other incidents

A 2006 show hosted by Peter Sarsgaard featured a sketch where Sarsgaard's character checked into a motel and grew increasingly annoyed with Rachel Dratch's character, a woman giving an instructional monologue through the CRT TV in Sarsgaard's room. At one point in the sketch, Sarsgaard hit the TV with his hands, causing the picture to disappear. Sarsgaard awkwardly reached over the TV, attempting to restore the picture before walking to the other side of the set as stagehands could be seen in-frame. Both Dratch and Sarsgaard continually broke character for the rest of the segment.[5]

The 2015 show hosted by Kevin Hart featured a sketch called "Why'd You Post That?", in which Hart berated Instagram users for the poor quality of their posts. During the live sketch, the television the sketch was centered on malfunctioned, first displaying a jumble of the current camera view, then turning off on live television. Hart and cast member Vanessa Bayer improvised while the TV malfunctioned, and Hart began describing the picture while it was not viewable on the screen.[6]

Notable controversies

Sinéad O'Connor

O’Connor ripping a picture of the Pope.

On October 3, 1992, Sinéad O'Connor was scheduled to appear, performing an a cappella performance of Bob Marley's "War". During the dress rehearsal, O'Connor held up a photo of a Balkan child as a protest of child abuse in war before bowing and leaving the stage, which the episode's director Dave Wilson described as a "very tender moment".[7] However, during the live show, O'Connor altered the "War" lyric "fight racial injustice" to "fight child abuse" as a protest against the cases of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. She presented a photo of Pope John Paul II while singing the word "evil", before tearing the image into pieces and saying "Fight the real enemy".[7][8] NBC had no foreknowledge of O'Connor's plan, and Wilson purposely failed to use the "applause" button, leaving the audience to sit in silence. Michaels made the decision to allow O'Connor to take the stage with the rest of the cast at the end of the show, for which he was later punished. NBC received thousands of irate calls in the aftermath of the incident, and protests against O'Connor occurred outside of the 30 Rock building, where a steamroller crushed dozens of her tapes, CDs and LPs.[7] In the following weeks on SNL, guests Joe Pesci and Madonna both voiced their opposition to O'Connor.[7][8] Since the incident, O'Connor has not appeared on Saturday Night Live again.

As of 2016, NBC still declines to rebroadcast the sequence with the exception of an interview with O'Connor on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, which aired on April 24, 2010, when the clip was aired in full. In reruns, the incident is replaced with the dress rehearsal performance. The original episode was made available on volume four of the DVD special "Saturday Night Live - 25 Years of Music", with an introduction by Michaels about the incident. On February 20, 2011, the clip was aired on the SNL special "Backstage" showing footage of the dress rehearsal and live performance side by side. The footage cuts to interviewees during the moment the photo was ripped.

The incident was mocked during a live episode of the television show 30 Rock, in which an NBC page (Kristen Schaal) comes on stage and tears a picture of O'Connor in half.[9] It was also mocked in the third episode of The Life of Rock with Brian Pern, which features the fictional title musician Brian Pern's appearance on a 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live, where he tears up a picture of The Fonz, calling him "evil" after remarking "lies", as a protest against Happy Days providing a distraction to the American public from American foreign policy aggression.

Fear

In 1981, director Penelope Spheeris made a film titled The Decline of Western Civilization; the film featured an appearance by the group Fear. This appearance in particular caught the attention of former cast member John Belushi, who lobbied successfully to get the band a spot as a musical guest on the 1981 Halloween episode of SNL.[10] Belushi had originally offered Fear the soundtrack for his major motion picture Neighbors. The film's producers eventually forced Fear off the project, and Belushi got them the infamous SNL gig as compensation. The band's appearance included a group of slamdancers, among them Belushi, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat (and later Fugazi), Tesco Vee of The Meatmen, Harley Flanagan and John Joseph of the Cro-Mags, and John Brannon of Negative Approach. The show's director originally wanted to prevent the dancers from participating, so Belushi offered to be in the episode if the dancers were allowed to stay.[10] The result was the shortening of Fear's appearance on TV. Frontman Lee Ving started the band's second song by stating, "It's great to be in New Jersey", drawing boos from SNL's New York live audience. Fear played "I Don't Care About You", "Beef Bologna", "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones", and started to play "Let's Have a War" when the telecast faded into commercial. The slamdancers left ripe pumpkin remains on the set. Cameras, a piano and other property were damaged in a situation that was close to a stage riot.

After their SNL appearance, which resulted in $20,000 in damage,[11] some clubs chose not to hire the band. A New York Post article later reported the figure to be $500,000. This is believed to have originated from Ving, who told the Post that "...we caused $500,000 worth of damage, a cool half a million dollars worth of damage, ‘cause we’re professionals, and I counted the damage myself."[12]

Andrew Dice Clay

When Andrew Dice Clay was scheduled as a host for the May 12, 1990 episode, cast member Nora Dunn immediately announced to the press that she was boycotting the show in protest. She stated the protest was in view of Clay's perceived misogynistic, politically incorrect act, and did so without informing Michaels, the cast, or most of the crew about her intent. The public backlash was immediate; the selection of Clay was compared to the Holocaust by an audience member during an interview with Michaels. Female members of the cast and crew were harassed by phone and mail for sticking with the show, and metal detectors were installed at the studio to enhance security. NBC censors insisted that the episode be aired with a delay to compensate for anything Clay might say on air. During the live show, some audience members heckled Clay but were immediately removed by the increased security detail. Dunn's contract was already coming to an end, and with one episode left in the season, the staff voted against having her take part in the final episode of the season and her contract was not renewed.[13]

Sinéad O'Connor was scheduled to be the musical guest for the episode, but she also boycotted the show because of Clay's involvement, forcing the producers to find musical replacements.[14]

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine displayed two upside-down American flags.

On April 13, 1996, musical guests Rage Against the Machine (RATM) were scheduled to perform two songs. The show was hosted that night by billionaire Steve Forbes. According to RATM guitarist Tom Morello, "RATM wanted to stand in sharp juxtaposition to a billionaire telling jokes and promoting his flat tax by making our own statement." To this end, the band hung two upside-down American flags from their amplifiers. Seconds before they took the stage to perform "Bulls on Parade", stagehands were sent in to pull the flags down. Following the removal of the flags during the first performance, the band was approached by NBC officials and ordered to immediately leave the building. Upon hearing this, bassist Tim Commerford reportedly stormed Forbes' dressing room, throwing shreds from one of the torn-down flags. Morello said that members of the SNL cast and crew, whom he declined to name, "expressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that their show had censored the performance."[15] Since this incident, Rage Against the Machine has not appeared on Saturday Night Live again.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump's 2015 appearance invited protests.

Business magnate Donald Trump's second hosting appearance, in the midst of his 2016 presidential campaign, courted controversy and protests. Latino advocacy groups pressed NBC to cancel Trump's appearance, due to his remarks on Mexican immigration, while protestors picketed outside Trump Tower and 30 Rockefeller Center in the days preceding and of the show, holding "DUMP TRUMP" signs.[16] That group created a petition to cancel Trump's hosting with over 500,000 signatures, delivering it to Michaels and NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke.[17] The Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a "statement of opposition" to Trump's appearance.[18] Trump confirmed he was booked to boost the show's ratings,[17] noting that he turned down more risqué sketches. He also seemingly criticized the show's writing staff: "They have 100 writers. I walk into the room, there are 100 – and they’re all about 17 years old, OK? They’re all young and all up in your face."[19] The group DeportRacism.com offered $5,000 in cash to any audience member that would heckle Trump and call him a racist during his monologue.[20]

The show aired on November 7, 2015, and due to the equal-time rule, Trump only appeared for a total of twelve minutes.[21] The notion of heckling was referenced in the show, when Larry David (who had guested earlier in the evening to play politician Bernie Sanders) called Trump a racist, but only in hopes to secure the $5,000.[16] In the end, the episode received 9.3 million viewers—the program's highest ratings in nearly four years[22]—but was widely reviled by critics.[23] NBC subsequently offered free airtime to Republican candidates who filed equal time requests.[21]

Other

A number of hosts and musical guests have been "banned" from appearing on the show again and there have been examples of other controversial goings-on within SNL. Examples of these are noted below.

Incidents

Banned performers

The following performers have been banned from either hosting or performing on Saturday Night Live mostly due to being badly rehearsed, going offscript, camera-mugging, not getting along with the cast and crew, or anything else that would be inappropriate.

Plagiarism

References

Footnotes

  1. "Ashlee Simpson takes ‘SNL’ lip sync blame". Today (NBC News). October 28, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  2. "Did 'Saturday Night Live' expose Ashlee Simpson's extra help?". USA Today. October 24, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Leung, Rebecca (October 28, 2004). "Michaels: Lip-Sync An 'SNL' No-No". CBS News. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. Vineyard, Jennifer (October 25, 2004). "Ashlee Blames Gastric Distress For ‘SNL’ Lip-Synch Snafu". MTV News. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  5. Douwsma, Ben (April 5, 2013). "It Worked Better: Dress Rehearsal Replacements in ‘SNL’ Reruns". Splitsider. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  6. Thomas, Leah (January 18, 2015). "Kevin Hart & Vanessa Bayer Played Through 'SNL' Technical Difficulties Like Pros". Bustle. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Tapper, Jake (October 13, 2002). "Sin". Salon. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Murray, Noel (March 7, 2006). "Inventory: Ten Memorable Saturday Night Live Musical Moments". A.V. Club (The Onion). Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  9. Rico, Roberto (April 27, 2012). "30 Rock: Live From Studio 6H". ScreenPicks. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Spit Stix interview". Markprindle.com. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Spiegel, Amy (May 14, 2013). "9 People Who Were Banned From "Saturday Night Live"". Buzzfeed. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  12. Citizenmag.com Archived May 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. Miller & Shales 2014, p. 359.
  14. James, Caryn (May 14, 1990). "Review/Television; 'Saturday Night Live,' With Andrew Dice Clay". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  15. Morello, Tom. "Rage Against the Machine". Music Fan Clubs. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Megan Garber (November 8, 2015). "Live From New York, It's Donald Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  17. 1 2 Meredith Blake (November 5, 2015). "As protests grow, 'SNL' looks unlikely to dump Donald Trump as host". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  18. Brian Steinberg (November 2, 2015). "Congressional Hispanic Caucus Opposes Donald Trump Appearance on NBC’s ‘SNL’". Variety. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  19. "Donald Trump Says He Turned Down Risque ‘SNL’ Sketch Ideas". Variety. November 6, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  20. Alan Yuhas (November 7, 2015). "Protest Pac offers $5,000 to anyone shouting 'racist' during Trump's SNL gig". The Guardian. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  21. 1 2 Ted Johnson (November 19, 2015). "NBC Begins Making Equal Time Offers After Donald Trump’s ‘SNL’ Gig". Variety. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  22. Kissell, Rick (November 8, 2015). "Donald Trump Lifts 'Saturday Night Live' Ratings to Near Four-Year High". Variety. Michelle Sobrino. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  23. "Donald Trump's 'Saturday Night Live' episode draws 9.3 million viewers". Associated Press. November 12, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015. The show, which also featured musical guest Sia, was roundly panned by critics.
  24. Miller & Shales 2014, p. 47.
  25. Henry, David (November 5, 2013). Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him (1st ed.). Algonquin Books. ISBN 978-1-6162-0078-7.
  26. Wallechinsky, David (February 1978). The Book of Lists (1st ed.). Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-11150-7.
  27. 1 2 Friendly, David (22 October 1986). "NBC censors comedian Kinison's jokes on `SNL'". Houston Chronicle (Hearst). Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  28. Susan Baer (July 6, 1993). "Making a private life in a public family Clintons shield Chelsea from spotlight". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  29. Nevius, C.W. (22 January 2004). "Just ask Chelsea, Jenna and Barbara: Escaping the glare of the spotlight isn't easy for kids whose dads work in the Oval Office". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst. Retrieved 23 January 2015. But other presidential offspring seem to have found the attention insufferable. Poor Amy Carter, Jimmy's daughter, who was hounded by the media, adamantly refuses interview requests to this day. Chelsea Clinton, the inspiration for the "Chasing Liberty" movie, was so pained when she was mocked on a "Wayne's World" skit on "Saturday Night Live" that Mike Myers sent an apology to the White House.
  30. Friar, Christine (4 January 2012). "'Banned SNL Clip': Rare 'Conspiracy Theory Rock!' Short Unearthed And Going Viral (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  31. Gary Susman (May 7, 2005). "System of a Down drops f-word on SNL". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  32. "System of a Down Swears on 'SNL'". Associated Press. May 10, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  33. Philip Potempa (July 19, 2007). "'Saturday Night Live' skit raises concerns about insensitivity for Down Syndrome". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  34. Schreffler, Laura (28 September 2009). "'Saturday Night Live' cast member Jenny Slate drops F-bomb in premiere episode hosted by Megan Fox". NY Daily News. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  35. Rowles, Dustin (16 June 2014). "'Jenny Slate Opens Up About Her Disastrous, F-Bomb Dropping First Appearance On ‘SNL’". Uproxx. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  36. Moore, Frazier (December 16, 2012). "SNL Silent Night Children's Choir Opens Show". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  37. Brian Steinberg (March 12, 2016). "Ariana Grande Drops Unexpected Profanity Into ‘SNL’ Monologue". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  38. DeRiso, Nick (17 December 2014). "37 Years Ago: Elvis Costello Is Banned From ‘Saturday Night Live'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  39. Springer, Mike (27 September 2013). "The Stunt That Got Elvis Costello Banned From Saturday Night Live". Open Culture. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  40. http://splitsider.com/2011/12/the-awkward-hostile-and-absolutely-hilarious-late-night-appearances-of-charles-grodin/
  41. Miller & Shales 2014, p. 224–227.
  42. Best and Worst 'SNL' Hosts at xfinity.comcast.net, retrieved June 27, 2013.
  43. 1 2 3 4 Hutchinson, Sean (March 7, 2014). "10 People Banned from SNL". Mental Floss. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  44. "Martin Lawrence's Monologue". SNL Transcripts. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  45. Mohr, Jay (20 July 2005). Gasping for Airtime: Two Years In the Trenches of Saturday Night Live. Hyperion. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-4013-0801-8.
  46. Jason Richards (September 27, 2010). "Hatfight: Did SNL Steal a Sketch From Tim and Eric?". Vulture. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  47. 1 2 O'Neal, Sean (October 6, 2014). "Saturday Night Live accused of stealing sketch from the Groundlings". A.V. Club (The Onion). Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  48. Ahearn, Victoria (May 17, 2015). "‘SNL’ and ‘22 Minutes’ sketches reignite joke theft debate in the comedy world". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 19, 2015.

Sources

  • Miller, James Andrew; Shales, Tom (2014). Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316295-04-8. 

External links

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