The 10 wildest ‘Saturday Night Live’ moments of the 21st century
Saturday Night Live has been one of the comedy fixtures for the past half-century. Since its premiere in the late 1970s, the 30 Rock studios have been known to create comedic milestones that are fondly remembered today, with appearances from The Beatles and guests that no one would have ever expected. Although there are great moments every single night, there are more than a few moments that leave the audience’s mouths on the floor.
Since everything is live, those few instances always cause the actors to slip up, leading to magic that is made up on the spot. While most of those instances make for great pieces that are fun to watch at the moment, there are just as many times where that plan goes awry, with artists slipping up on live television or saying something that was a little too risque even for the late-night crowd.
Then again, the biggest slipups sometimes come from the musical guests. Since all the music is done on the live stage, audiences can get transfixed by what’s happening onstage before everything starts going off the rails, from swearing on the live take to making wild demands that no one would have ever considered.
Although more than a few artists have made their mark whenever they took the stage on SNL, the moments that stick out are the ones where nothing goes according to plan. No one could have been able to script these spectacles, but they all made for damn good television at the moment.
10 wildest SNL moments of the 21st century
10. Samuel L Jackson’s ‘F-Bomb’
One of the biggest fears of being on live television comes with trying to keep one’s nose clean. Even though SNL is a place designed for artists to be off-colour every now and again, there’s a good chance that many people can get carried away when they are in the moment. Then again, no one was going to doubt that Samuel L Jackson would go all the way when they toyed with him saying an expletive onscreen.
During the recurring sketch What’s Up With That, Kenan Thompson’s character was up to his usual shenanigans, interrupting guests to sing the theme song, which gets under Jackson’s skin throughout the majority of the sketch. While the sketch indicated Jackson start to say a certain four-letter word before being cut off by Thompson, Jackson let the whole thing fly, leading to an awkward air in the room as everyone realised what happened. Even though it’s never expected to hear profanity like this on television, it’s probably just any normal Saturday night for Jackson.
9. System of a Down’s spontaneous profanity
Anyone who signs up to have System of a Down play a show for them needs to know what they are getting into. Throughout their time as a recording collective, the political band was never known to comprise their vision, always putting their statements at the forefront of their music. Although the censors approved the choice to perform ‘BYOB’, they didn’t think to check what Daron Malakian would do onstage.
Featuring many start-stop sections throughout the song, the band went into full intensity when playing the final chorus. In the heat of the moment, Malakian would try to get the crowd pumped towards the end, screaming “FUCK YEAH” right before going into the final chorus of wondering why the rich always send the poor off to fight. While they may have gotten their point across, they also got another prize for their troubles: a ban from ever performing on the show again.
8. Jimmy Fallon’s blackface incident
Throughout his time on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon has been known for sporting a family-friendly image that’s more charming than funny. Back when he was a staple of SNL, Fallon was known to toy with what was commonly acceptable for comedians now and again, serving as one of the leading men on Weekend Update throughout his tenure. Even though the show doesn’t like to confine its actors, Fallon’s choice to impersonate Chris Rock in 2000 remains one of the most ill-advised moments in comedy history.
Going past anyone’s better judgement on the show, Fallon took the stage as the famous black comedian, dressed in full blackface and trying to copy Rock’s cadence note for note. Making the incident all the more shocking, Fallon didn’t end up apologising until footage resurfaced of the night in the 2020s. While SNL might be known to play a bit fast and loose with some of the rules, the years of the minstrel show used for comedy is something best left in the 20th century.
7. Katy Perry not reading the room
For many artists, the opportunity to be a guest on Saturday Night Live is one of the greatest boosters to ask for. Even though it might not be the night’s highlight, the musical guest is the one opportunity to hit every eyeball you can that isn’t necessarily the core part of your fanbase. Although Katy Perry already had a loyal fanbase, the rollout of the song ‘Bon Appetit’ was among one of the most cringe-worthy moments in the show’s history.
After initially considering bringing out drag queens for the song, plans fell through for the scheduled dancers, leaving Perry and Migos without direction. Although many artists thrive under pressure, this was not one of those occasions for Perry, delivering one of the most perplexing dance routines and looking like she hardly had any idea what she was doing as every member of Migos delivered their verses. Even though she may have had one of the most successful albums of the decade, this performance alone took Perry from a pop star to everyone’s mom trying to look cool at a party.
6. Pete Davidson vs Dan Crenshaw
Throughout his time on SNL, Pete Davidson was never afraid to poke fun at anyone he thought was out of line. From critiquing Kanye West for his beliefs to dragging politicians through the mud, no one was off the table from Davidson’s tongue whenever he sat behind the desk on Weekend Update. Then again, Davidson got the scolding of a lifetime when he decided to go after Congressman Dan Crenshaw.
After poking fun at the politician for his appearance, the show quickly came under fire due to Davidson’s comments, which were seen as insensitive to disabled people. Before making peace with Crenshaw, the politician was invited onto the show a few months later after he won a seat in Congress, sitting alongside Davidson and creating awkward tension until the comedian apologised. Though comics are known to take abuse from hecklers at every show, it’s not every day that the heckler shows up onstage with them.
5. Lana Del Rey’s first appearance
Anyone’s nerves would be running high when taking the SNL stage for the first time. Even if a song is as good as it will get live, no one is safe from the jitters that come with knowing that everyone is watching someone’s performance on television for the first time. While Lana Del Rey had already been gaining traction for years from songs like ‘Video Games’, she made for one of the most awkward performances on the show when performing for the first time.
Although Rey’s smokey alto has to fit fairly low in the mix on her albums, everything turned into mush when trying to translate it to the live audience. When heard in the main room, her voice is borderline inaudible in some spots, which is felt by her body language, looking incredibly nervous as she tries to muscle her way through most of the song. While fans would go on to know Rey as one of the leading voices in alternative music later, this introduction to the world was enough to turn some people off.
4. Donald Trump’s bizarre hosting gig
For the past few years, Saturday Night Live has made a living by poking fun at Donald Trump. Since his presidency, the amount of vitriol levelled at the former president from those at 30 Rock has been hilarious and perplexing, depending on the joke. While Alec Baldwin may have turned in a stellar impersonation of the politician, it all looks bizarre, considering when he hosted the first time around.
Filmed a full year before his presidency, this was when the idea of a Trump presidency looked like a long-distance nightmare. With the benefit of hindsight, seeing the cast members begrudgingly run through the night’s sketches is enough to make anyone a bit uncomfortable, especially when the actors aren’t speaking and look like they’d rather be anywhere except on camera. Once Trump won the presidency one year later, though, the show had no problem tearing him through the mud throughout the rest of his term.
3. Ashlee Simpson’s lip-synching
These days, artists lip-synching to prerecorded tracks isn’t anything new. For all of the great performers who light up a stage every time they play, chances are they have more than a few vocal tips working with them to ensure the entire operation goes off without a hitch. Even though Ashlee Simpson was no different, her way of diffusing the situation back in the early 2000s left the world in shock.
Riding off the momentum of songs like ‘Pieces of Me’, Simpson was set to take the stage after the commercial break for her second song, only for the prerecorded track of her first track to start by accident. As Simpson fumbled awkwardly to diffuse the situation, the damage had already been done, with millions of fans seeing her mortified about not performing. Even though Simpson would be invited back in later seasons and even poked fun at the incident, her music career never fully recovered afterwards.
2. Djesus sketch
Saturday Night Live has never been afraid to poke fun at religion now and again. Although Sinead O’Connor may have come under fire during her musical guest spot in the 1990s, the majority of the public has been able to loosen up regarding having certain topics on the network. During the rollout for Django Unchained, though, things went absolutely nuts when the show did its own take on the Tarantino revenge story.
With Christoph Waltz as the guest for the evening, one of the sketches contained snippets of the actor dressed up as Jesus, exacting revenge on those who crucified him. Although the whole thing was meant in jest, it did receive a lot of negative pushback at the time, with religious watchers accusing them of blasphemy for the shots. Even though SNL has been known to play it safe on more than a few occasions, this is the equivalent of tip-toeing right up to the line and seeing how far it can go.
1. Everything about Kanye West’s appearance
Throughout his career, Kanye West has never been known as one of the easiest people to deal with. Whether it’s the fallout of his controversial statements or the massive ego attached to his music, there isn’t anything West will do that won’t come out exactly like he wants. While SNL depends on having a great collaborative effort, West wasn’t looking to go along with the program from day one.
During his 2013 performance, West was known for being meticulous about what he wanted, bringing in different ballet dancers and lavish productions that wouldn’t suit the traditional performance stage. Once he returned in 2016, he spent more promoting his Donald Trump political stance than the music at hand. Although West may have blazed the trail for more unorthodox productions on the network, there are just as many pieces of the puzzle that never fully clicked with him onstage.
