While it's an honor to be hosting the hit NBC comedy show, some celebrity hosts' jokes in their opening monologue unfortunately became an insult to the others.
- Nov 15, 2020
AceShowbiz - Being tapped to be a host on "Saturday Night Live" is an honor for celebrities. It's not an easy job though, because they need to make their opening monologues funny and interesting but not offensive.
Unfortunately, some "SNL" hosts apparently failed to do so as their jokes became an insult to the others. Some others made viewers uncomfortable by being too loose with their monologues, though some celebrities sparked positive buzzes for perfectly nailing their monologues despite tackling such a controversial topic.
Here are "SNL" hosts whose monologues made headlines for their shocking content.
1. Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle was tapped to host the November 7 episode of the hit NBC show and he managed to horrify the viewers with uncensored, expletive-laden monologue. In addition to that, the comedian made viewers, especially white people, uncomfortable with his monologue in which he tackled COVID-19 among others.
At one point in his monologue, Dave said that he needed to thank God for the disease because it kept "murderous whites" from doing mass shooting. "Dave Chappelle is probably the only comedian who can call a crowd of Caucasians 'murderous whites' and get this type of laughter," one reacted to his monologue.
2. Sam Kinison
Sam Kinison might need to learn to go as planned. Things quickly took an uncomfortable turn after his joke didn't go too well in his opening monologue. The late stand-up comedian attempted to bring laughter by joking about the legalization of marijuana and the Crucifixion.
Producers of "SNL" wasn't impressed and decided to give him an awkward editing instead. "When you work on network TV you have to play by the rules and Sam didn't play by the rules," Lorne Michaels said. "They didn't consider his drug references negative enough. The policy at NBC now is that the only references to drugs must be negative."
3. Bill Burr
Bill Burr made his "SNL" debut in an October episode and it was undeniably unforgettable. The former "Breaking Bad" actor caused controversy by mocking everyone from white women to gays in his first "Saturday Night Live'' monologue.
He called white women "b****es" while criticizing gays for celebrating Pride month in June. "The black people were actually enslaved. They get February, they get 28 days of overcast weather. ... How about you hook them up with July? These are equator people," he questioned.
4. Louis C.K.
Everyone talked about Louis C.K.'s "SNL" monologue following his appearance in a 2015 episode, but unfortunately not for the good reason. The comedian received huge backlash on social media after making fun of child molestation in his opening monologue.
He talked about how he felt bad when a child molester didn't like him when he was a kid. He then tried to imagine why child molesters would still commit the crime, adding that the thrill of getting risky might feel amazing for them. "From their point of view, it must be amazing, for them to risk so much," he joked, before adding, "It's my last show probably."
5. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart made a huge slip-up when she first hosted "SNL" in 2017 as she accidentally dropped F-bomb during her monologue. The "Personal Shopper" actress began her opening monologue by slamming President Donald Trump who had too much to say about her relationship with ex Robert Pattinson. At one point before she ended her monologue, she said, "This is the coolest f*cking thing and…," before she closed her mouth in shock.
Of her infamous gaffe, the "Twilight" star said, "It was funny, because I got through every single dress rehearsal without ever (swearing) in a scene, and before we actually went live, every single person was like, 'You're going to do great, it'll be over in an hour, just let the show catch you, and please, please, please don't say (the F-word).' I was like, 'I won't, trust me, there's no way.' And, of course, (I did) in like the first five minutes."
6. Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Nanjiani sparked buzzes being the first person of South Asian descent to host "SNL" and the Pakistani-born star took that as an opportunity to tackle anti-racism in his monologue back in a 2017 episode. The "Silicon Valley" actor talked about how "Islamophobia is on the rise," adding that he's been told to "go back to India" numerous times.
"Sikhs get attacked all the time for being Muslim. Spoiler alert: They're not. But they're brown and they wore turbans, so people attack them for being Muslim," he said, adding, "[It] must put them in such an awkward position." He sarcastically concluded his monologue, "An informed racist is a better racist."
7. Larry David
Larry David was tapped to host a November 2017 episode of "SNL" and his monologue was met with criticism. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actor/creator joked about the mounting sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood, adding, "I couldn't help but notice a very disturbing pattern emerging, which is that many of the predators are Jews. I don't like it when Jews are in the news for notorious reasons."
"I know I consistently strive to be a good Jewish representative. When people see me, I want them to say, 'Oh, there goes a fine Jew,' " he went on to say. Instead of being impressed, most people found his monologue "offensive, insensitive & unfunny all at same time."
8. Chris Rock
It's too soon! Chris Rock might push the boundaries too far when he made jokes about 2013 Boston marathon bombings during his "SNL" monologue back in 2014. "Tomorrow's the New York City marathon. What could go wrong there, right?" the comedian asked, though he assured that things would be fine "just like Boston's fine after the marathon."
As if that wasn't enough, he then touched on 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy. "Who's the corporate sponsor, Target?" he joked, before saying that he would never go in Freedom Tower even if "Scarlett Johansson is butt naked on the 89th floor." Although he insisted that he wasn't joking about the tragedy itself, fans didn't buy his words. "No Chris Rock, neither Boston Marathon nor 9/11 jokes never have and never will be funny. Just stop, now," one viewer reacted on Twitter.
9. Adrien Brody
After winning an Oscar, Adrien Brody might be at his highest fame in the early 2000s, but it didn't mean he could do as he pleased on "SNL". Back in 2003, the actor was heavily criticized over cultural appropriation as he introduced the musical guest of the night, reggae artist Sean Paul.
Going off script, Adrien insensitively wore fake dreadlocks in addition to speaking in a stereotypical Jamaican accent. "Ya, ya, ya, ya, you know, man. We got original rude boy Sean Paul here. Respect all respect. My auntie. Respect all aspect, respect me neck, respect me knees, Big up Jamaica massive! Big up Kingston Massive! We got the whole family now, ya here! Big respect to my man Sean Paul the dance floor killer!" so he said. He was then banned from the show.
10. Martin Lawrence
Brody isn't the only one in the list of stars who are banned from "SNL". Joining him is Martin Lawrence, who went too far with his monologue when he hosted the show back in 1994. Fresh off his huge success with TV show "Martin", the comedian appeared to not mind network censors as he talked about graphic content such as feminine hygine.
In response to the criticism, Martin insisted in an interview that he didn't intend to offend anyone. "If I don't know anything else, I know what it takes to make a person laugh," he told The Los Angeles Times. "People have to have the right to laugh, or else you’re going to have a lot more of us going crazy. If you can get past the language and have fun with what I'm talking about, I'm going to help keep you mentally healthy."
