The five most controversial ‘Saturday Night Live’ hosts
For almost 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been at the epicentre of satire in the United States and causing controversy is what it’s revelled in from the start. Usually, it’s the programme’s sketches that raise eyebrows from viewers, but they’ve also picked some questionable hosts over the years.
SNL isn’t supposed to make for comfortable viewing and should poke fun at all sides of the political spectrum or pop culture. Nobody should be safe from the wrath of the televised Saturday night stalwart, but sometimes, they have picked guest hosts who they know will cause headlines or a social media storm.
The show is the brainchild of Lorne Michaels, who has been at the programme’s helm since the beginning and remains in the hot seat of SNL today. If you’ve been living under a rock, Saturday Night Live features a weekly musical guest, a variety of sketches, and a celebrity on hosting duties.
Admittedly, in the age of social media, it’s become more challenging for Saturday Night Live to stay relevant as comedians can instantly make content about current events. However, if they want to whip up controversy, they can pick a guest host who’ll undoubtedly divide the general public.
The five most controversial guest hosts in ‘SNL’ history
Donald Trump
Donald Trump first hosted Saturday Night Live in 2004, when he was a reality TV star rather than a Presidential candidate. However, when he returned to Studio 8H of 30 Rock in 2015, it was a different kettle of fish, and protesters swarmed the studio in disgust at their decision to humanise Trump.
Giving him a platform to present himself humorously in front of millions of people on a Saturday night was seen as a critical moment in him becoming elected to run The White House. At the time, Trump was still seen as a joke candidate, but twelve months later, he had completed his transition from a harmless reality star to the most powerful man in America.
Elon Musk
In 2021, even before Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned the social media site into his plaything, he had his fair share of critics, including members of the SNL cast. Bowen Yang posted a frown emoji on Instagram Stories and asked, “What the fuck does this even mean?” in response to Elon tweeting, “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is.”
Furthermore, Andrew Dismukes reportedly penned on his IG Stories, “ONLY CEO I WANT TO DO A SKETCH WITH IS Cher-E Oteri.” Also, Aidy Bryant shared a Bernie Sanders tweet which said, “The 50 wealthiest people in this country own more wealth than some 165 million Americans. That is a moral obscenity.” In the end, Musk didn’t say anything particularly controversial, but he lacked the charisma to host a prime-time television show and proved to be a keyboard warrior.
Lance Armstrong
For a while, Lance Armstrong was a cancer survivor who could do no wrong. Through the Livestrong foundation, he helped raise more than $500million for cancer research, and he’d also won the Tour De France on six occasions.
However, in 2005, murmurings began to spread about the legitimacy of his sporting achievements and whether they were won fairly or with the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs. Shortly afterwards, Armstrong was named as the guest host of SNL, despite the public outcry over his cheating, and in his monologue, he said: “The last time I did something too good, the French started testing my urine every 15 minutes.”
Bill Burr
For stand-up purists, Bill Burr is about as good as it gets. However, when he appeared on SNL in 2020, his monologue caused social media to go into a meltdown, with viewers criticising and lauding him in equal measure, which is likely the reaction Burr desired.
In his monologue, Burr jokingly said white women “hijacked the woke movement.” He continued, “Somehow, white women swung their Gucci-booted feet over the fence of oppression and stuck themselves at the front of the line,” Burr said before adding, “never heard so much complaining in my life from white women.” Unsurprisingly, Burr caused upset with his comments, but that’s what happens when you book the king of provocation.
Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle first hosted Saturday Night Live in 2016 and has become part of the furniture in recent years. However, following his comments about the trans community in his Netflix special, The Closer, public opinion of Chappelle has taken a bruising, and there’s been a public backlash following the announcement of his return to 30 Rock.
There were rumours that a collection of SNL writers had refused to work alongside Chappelle, but the comedian denied these reports’ validity. “We’ve seen nothing to support media reports of a writer’s boycott,” Chappelle’s rep told CNN in a statement. “In fact, the writers delivered over 40 sketches for Dave’s consideration and collaboration. Just as during Dave’s past ‘SNL’ appearances, you won’t want to miss it!” Even if no writers have boycotted the episode, Chappelle’s special has villainized him to millions, who have made their feelings clear about him hosting.
