The opportunity to host Saturday Night Live (SNL) is every celebrity’s dream. For nearly 50 years, the sketch comedy show has entertained American audiences. Founded by Lorne Michaels, who is still the showrunner, SNL has been on the air for 47 seasons and has launched the careers of a variety of comedians including John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Dennis Miller, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Bill Hader, Chris Rock, Andy Samber, Kristin Wig and more. The list just goes on. Alongside the cast, the stars of the show are the special guests, which include the who of the entertainment world. While you can probably name many of the great innkeepers, do you know about the celebrities who have been banned from SNL?
There have been many rumors over the years that certain celebrities have been banned from Saturday Night Live because of their unconvincing performances or bad behavior behind the scenes. While there isn’t much evidence that these celebrities have been banned, the fact that many of them have never been invited back sends a pretty strong message that they aren’t wanted.
Here’s a look at all the alleged celebrities who have been banned from SNL and who you shouldn’t expect to be returning to the show any time soon.
All alleged celebrities banned from SNL
1. Adrian Brody
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Adrien Brody, who was buoyed by his Oscar success in The Piano, was at the peak of his career when he appeared on 2003’s Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, his guest appearance caused quite a bit of controversy when Brody deviated from the script and came out dressed as a Jamaican with fake dreadlocks. Not only that, but he put on a horrible Jamaican accent that’s about as offensive as you can get.
He introduced musical guest Sean Paul and opened with, “Ya, ya, ya, ya, you know, man. We’ve got the original rude boy Sean Paul here.” The crowd went dead silent. He continued and said: “Respect all respect. My aunt. Respect all aspects, respect my neck, respect my knees, Big up Jamaica massive! Big up Kingston Massif! We got the whole family now, ya here! Great respect for my husband Sean Paul, the dance floor killer!” Absolute atmosphere killer
Apparently, the clip was deleted from YouTube (you can watch a snippet here) and it resulted in Lorne Michaels banning Brody from ever setting foot on the SNL stage again. You really can’t blame him for that.
2.Elvis Costello
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After the Sex Pistols retired from performing on Saturday Night Live’s December 17, 1977 edition, Elvis Costello was given the chance to perform. Delighted to take the Pistols’ place, Costello insisted on playing a song of his choice. That didn’t sit well with Lorne Michaels or Costello’s US label, who wanted him to perform his latest single, Less Than Zero.
Costello relented and played the song — for 10 seconds. Then he launched into a rock version of “Radio Radio”. As you can imagine, Michaels lost his shit and Costello got banned from SNL. But time heals all wounds and Costello returned for the show’s 25th anniversary and hilariously recreated the moment alongside the Beastie Boys.
3. Sinead O’Connor
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This was another important moment in Saturday Night Live history. Irish singer Sinead O’Connor appeared on the show in 1992, singing an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s “War” in protest of recent allegations of sexual assault on boys by members of the Catholic Church. But she didn’t stop there. During the performance, O’Connor held up a picture of Pope John Paul II and tore it in half.
The lining was shortened and O’Connor received her marching orders. Religious groups around the world were in turmoil and sponsors weren’t too happy either. There have even been calls for radio stations to ban their songs. Suffice it to say that O’Connor never returned to the show.
That they have a sense of humor is shown in the following week’s episode with Joe Pesic holding up the now taped photo of the Pope as a peace offering.
4. Martin Lawrence
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When he went into business for himself, Martin Lawrence left the screenplay during his opening monologue in 1994. He started thinking about feminine hygiene, sharing with women that he loves to kiss them, “but if you’re not clean in your right areas, I can’t. ” Thanks for the pointers, Lawrence.
Rumors quickly circulated that Lawrence was banned, although he denied it while appearing on The Breakfast Club. When asked by co-host Charlamagne The God if he was still banned from the show, Lawrence replied, “I’m not banned from SNL. They banned me from NBC for a minute at the time.” Lawrence continued, “But then they realized the way it was going wasn’t what they thought, and then they sent me an apology letter.”
5. Rage against the machine
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Rage Against the Machine is no stranger to controversy and caused all sorts of trouble when they appeared on the April 13, 1996 edition of Saturday Night Live. The highly political band is at odds with the show’s non-political stance, and their inclusion in the cast was even stranger considering outspoken Republican Steve Forbes hosted.
To make a statement, the band hung upside-down American flags on set before performing the hit “Bulls on Parade.” The flags were pulled down by the producers (possibly on orders from Forbes) and the band were told to leave.
It may not seem like a huge misstep in today’s climate, but back then, any defamation of the American flag was considered sacrilege. The band never returned to the show.
6. Cypress Hill
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You could tell this wasn’t going to end well. Weed-loving hip-hop collective Cypress Hill fell on the wrong side of Lorne Michaels when DJ Muggs decided to smoke a joint during their 1993 performance. It doesn’t seem to have bothered the group, as Sen Dog opened up about the incident in a recent interview with The Wrap.
“I like the fact that we’re banned. The whole ban thing is punk rock in and of itself. I want to leave it like this. If the guys wanted to do it then we could talk about it or whatever, but I like this idea of being the outlaws not allowed in town.”
7. System of a down
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Hard rockers System of a Down made the cheeky list after uttering a few swear words during their performance of “BYOB (Bring Your Own Bombs)”. The song selection alone caused concern among the show’s producers, since it was a protest against the Iraq war and Saturday Night Live didn’t want to take a firm political stance, it was fortunate that the song was approved in the first place.
Then came the line, “Where the hell are you?” which was sung five times during the song. SOAD refused to change it, and the censors were forced to use a five-second delay so they could beep the expletive. Luckily all five fucks could be censored, but SOAD ended up on the blacklist anyway.
8. Samuel L Jackson
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This turned out to be a miscommunication, we think. Sam Jackson hosted the first show of 1998 and dropped a few swear words during his opening monologue. Rumors lingered for years that this didn’t impress Lorne Michaels, who put Jackson on his banned list of entertainers. Well, it turns out that wasn’t the truth.
In a recent interview, Jackson explained how he encountered Michaels in an elevator and asked him directly, “Will you ever let me on the show again?” Michaels replied, “You’re not banned.” Then the two walked back and forth, arguing about whether or not Jackson was banned. Jackson ended the conversation by saying, “Maybe I’m not. I do not know.”
9.Steven Seagal
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Anyone who knows anything about Steven Seagal won’t be surprised to find him on the blacklist. The ’80s action hero who claimed to be a former CIA agent was just an asshole on set. He didn’t understand the sketches and often tried to rewrite things. It seems like he takes himself very seriously and doesn’t make fun of anyone.
“He just wasn’t funny, and he was very critical of the cast and writing team,” former SNL cast member Tim Meadows explained in the book Live From New York. “He didn’t realize that you can’t tell someone they’re stupid on Wednesday and expect them to keep writing for you on Saturday.”
10.Robert Blake
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Best known for his role on the television series Baretta, Robert Blake fell on the wrong side of the Saturday Night Live cast and crew, which is a surefire way to end up on the blacklist. He hosted the show in 1982 and is said not to have been overly enthusiastic about the material he was working with.
SNL writer David Sheffield discusses the incident in the book Live From New York, explaining, “He was sitting in a room and Gary Kroeger, a writer and actor, handed him a sketch. The sketch had something to do with a tough teacher, with Kroeger expanding.[He] read that with his glasses on his nose, then crumpled it up, turned to Kroeger and said, ‘I hope you’ve got a hard asshole, mate, because that’s what you need to wipe your ass with.'” Unsurprisingly, that Blake was blacklisted and never returned to the show.
11.Milton Berle
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Milton Berle is a comedy legend. He was a huge draw in the ’50s and producer Lorne Michaels thought he would make a great host for Saturday Night Live. Well, that turned out to be a bad decision. Berle is said to have been a real jerk on set, reminding everyone what a big star he was and why he should be treated like number one.
Berle also used the show’s final monologue to digress and pocket his new book, which was the last straw for Michaels, which got him banned from that point on.
12. The Substitutions
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American rockers The Replacements probably deserved to be banned from Saturday Night Live for their antics in 1986. The band was reportedly drinking heavily and running amok backstage, and dropped a few swear words as they performed. The band also ransacked their hotel room, expecting the network to pay for it.
Michaels is not a bad guy and The Replacements have been banned, not just by Michaels but by NBC as well. They eventually reappeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon in 2014.
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