Samuel L. Jackson says he’s asked Lorne Michaels about that Saturday Night Live ban
Jackson says Michaels denied that he was blacklisted from the sketch show
Aux News Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels has set the record straight on Samuel L. Jackson’s alleged ban from the iconic sketch show. The actor apparently assumed he was blacklisted after cursing on air back in 2012, but Michaels assured him that wasn’t the case.
Jackson brought up the ban during an interview with Leslie Jones (filling in as host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show) back in March. “Kenan [Thompson] got me banned from Saturday Night Live,” he told the former cast member. “He didn’t cut me off soon enough and I said the forbidden word on television. He was supposed to cut me off!”
The slip occurred during the recurring sketch “What Up With That” (below), in which Thompson’s character perpetually interrupts his guests with musical interludes. Jackson got very into character playing himself, and ended up swearing on live TV. After the sketch aired, he wrote on Twitter: “I only said FUH not FUCK! K was sposed to cut off da BULLSHIT, blew it!!”
Though Jackson believed he was forbidden from Studio 8H’s hallowed halls after that, he told Entertainment Weekly’s podcast The Awardist that Lorne Michaels told him otherwise. According to EW, Jackson says he was getting on an elevator as Michaels was getting off (Michaels supposedly didn’t recognize the film legend until he lowered his mask), and Jackson asked him, “Are you ever gonna let me back on the show?”
Michaels told him, “You’re not banned!” but Jackson–who only hosted once, in 1998–argued, “Yes, I am!” Michaels reiterated, “No, you’re not!” Jackson still didn’t seem convinced on the podcast, concluding: “So maybe I’m not. I don’t know.”
Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation as to why Jackson hasn’t appeared on the show in 10 years. Let’s be real, though, if you were confronted in an elevator by Samuel L. Jackson, you’d probably tell him exactly what he wanted to hear, regardless of what the truth is!
102 Comments
How much of an asshole is Lorne, exactly? Seems like he can be a cold fish, but Tina Fey said in her book that she learned a lot from him on how to manage people, and she’s known for being great to work with.
I’ll answer that question after you wait in my office for six hours. (Actually, I won’t answer it until the very last minute, and you’ll have to scramble to find an apartment.)
Is this something that he really did to a cast member?
It’s what he does to virtually every cast member.
Inside joke? Please explain…..
He seems like he runs really hot/cold on people, so if you’re his pet you’ll do well, but if not he’ll freeze you out. Which is not good management.
I mean, you can learn a lot about how to not be an asshole from watching an asshole be an asshole. ‘They did this and it was shitty, so I won’t do that.’ She didn’t say she emulated Michaels. Just that she learned a lot from him. “He did this one thing and it really really pissed everyone off, so I vowed I’d never do that thing.” or “He would send assistants to do XYZ instead of himself, and it made people think far less of him, so I decided I’d always do it myself face to face.”
I’ve kind of gotten the sense that Tina isn’t the nicest person in the world either
That means a lot coming from you – someone who doesn’t know her or have any insight whatsoever into what she’s like. Really meaningful, well thought through take from you like always.
Are those things you remember her saying or what you think she might’ve meant?
I was editorializing. I didn’t read the book.
SNL raised a lot of great talents and collaborations, and just about every alum has said it was the most nerve wracking time of their lives.
“How much of an asshole is Lorne, exactly?”
Must be a HUGE asshole considering, you know, that fucking EVERYONE loves him?
It seems like because of the power he holds, everyone reads a lot into everything he does. Especially performers, who are often insecure. Maybe he exploits that some, but I bet there’s a healthy dose of assumptions and projection. I think this for two reasons: (1) because it’s widely known that performers are often insecure (and often have narcistic tendencies like assuming things are about them when they aren’t) and (2) because I’ve worked in office environments where if a CEO asks a question about something, middle management thinks the CEO is angry. I don’t think Samuel L. Jackson was ever banned. I think Lorne probably said something like “that can never happen again” and the folks working there assumed that meant he was banned. They probably at least figured he was a liability and bringing him back would put their own neck(s) on the line. Lorne clearly doesn’t have a special place in his heart for Sam, so he probably didn’t give much thought to wanting him back on the show again, though not from malice but rather from indifference. Sam, knowing he made a mistake, probably assumed he was “in trouble” with Lorne. He also blamed Keenan, which doesn’t help when Keenan is the longest-tenured cast member ever.
i think he’s probably more of a weirdo who’s job still requires him to stay up till 1am on a saturday despite 77.
he’s the lord of a terrible sketch comedy show. he’s a piece of shit
It’s not for nothing that the picture of him looks exactly like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.
Man used to getting his way tries to use media to get his way and host again.
The truth – Lorne was heading to get a doughnut from the craft services table and ran into Jackson, who had a doughnut with a bite out of it. And then figured out Jackson had gotten the last doughnut. Sure, now it seems petty but, right then, Lorne really really really wanted that doughnut. Also the truth – all made up. Now you don’t know what to think. (Credit SNL and Norm McDonald.)
Ban schman, just because you don’t have a picture of him hanging in 8H with the caption NEVER AGAIN doesn’t mean he isn’t being kept off the show because of the swear, and if in any way that is what has happened, then it’s ridiculous. He’s Samuel L. Jackson! Saying FUCK is what he’s known for! It’s what you had him in the sketch to do!
I mean, they fired Jenny Slate for saying ‘fuck’ on air one time. It’s not far fetched that ‘you slipped up, so we can’t take that chance again.’ It’s not like there aren’t people lined up for days that would host SNL, so why take the chance?
She has said that wasn’t the reason her contract wasn’t renewed—she stayed on for the whole season, despite the slip-up happening her first episode—so maybe, maybe not. Regardless, 2009 Jenny Slate was a relatively unknown new castmember, not an established superstar who, incidentally, is probably best known for saying “fuck” and was literally in a sketch designed around the idea of him saying “fuck.” Not renewing a new castmember who slipped up on air is not the same thing as banning, explicitly or implicitly, a major star who was there because he is the world’s most liberal fuck-giver. One is SNL bowing to network demands, which might be shitty but is still pretty par. The other is SNL having someone bring them cake, eating the cake, getting mad at the person who brought the cake for bringing cake while also banning cake and at the same time being angry that there is no more cake.
I think the most hilarious part of it all is that here in 2022, the FCC still thinks it’s pearl-clutch-worthy if someone says “fuck” on broadcast TV at 11:30 PM. Like, children can see people saying “fuck” (or actually fucking) on the Internet with basically no effort, and they’re not going to be staying up late just to hear a forbidden curse word on a (to them) baffling TV show their parents don’t even watch.They should just use a British-style watershed time (e.g. 10pm) after which cursing and nudity are okay, or whatever. Grow the fuck up, America.
But America is a ChRiStIaN nation1!!So that’s why SNL can’t say naughty words.
But saying “Belgium” is ok.
I’d guess that about three people on this site know what this means
More or less
As long as it is used gratuitously in a serious screenplay…
The U.S. does have something similar called safe harbor, but SNL can’t use it because it airs in prime time on West Coast.
10:30 is within the safe harbor – the problem lies with the west coast (and I think with Mountain?), where it airs at 8:30 and 9:30, respectively.
You can say “fuck” consequence-free on TV at 11:30 pm. The issue, however, is that for several years, SNL has aired live in all time zones – meaning that it’s on from 8:30 to 10 at night on the west coast. (The FCC’s safe harbor is from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am, but is rarely used due to pressure from advertisers, and because something that airs at 10:00 on the east coast will be on at 9:00 or 8:00 in other time zones – something which bit ABC in the ass when they tried to push the envelope with NYPD Blue.)
The funny thing is that we already have exactly that. “Indecent” and “profane” material is permitted between 10 pm and 6 am. That late night shows still bleep profanities (when they catch ‘em in time) presumably has more to do with the networks’ own standards and practices.https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/obscene-indecent-and-profane-broadcasts
Very awesome description!
adrian brody caught a ban for doing an unauthorized jamaican accent.
As he should have
And also being an asshole all week. That’s the far bigger sin on the show.Doesn’t hurt that, like SLJ, Adrien Brody hasn’t been the star of a movie where he’s the only logical actor to do the publicity work of hosting SNL since (checks notes) 2002.
Posted this comment in another thread but there are actually a ton. I won’t post the entire list but he played a lead role in a bunch of popular movies since then, like Shaft, Changing Lanes, Coach Carter, The Incredibles, etc. The past decade has been a bit light on lead roles, but you do have Incredibles 2, Shaft (2019), and Glass, among others.
There’s a sketch with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor far worse (search “Dead Honky.”) I think the main way to get kicked of is what Sinéad O’Connor did – hijack a segment for an unexpected and deep cringe (not Catholic, so no affect, but still reading the rest of the room) moment. Surprise everyone but the management and the crew and life is good. No one is surprised if SLJ said “fuck.”
Before he retires, he better make amends with Sinead. Her act of bravery deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.
F’ a certain editing software: There’s a sketch with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor far worse (search “Dead Honky.”) I think the main way to get kicked off is what Sinéad O’Connor did – hijack a segment for an unexpected and deep cringe (not Catholic, so no affect, but still reading the rest of the room) moment. Surprise everyone but the management and the crew and life is good. No one is surprised if SLJ said “fuck.”
Wasn’t one of the Wayans brothers fired for playing a simple cop in a sketch as a gay cop?
I saw both those sketches live. HONKY HONKY. But Sinead O’Conner— that was dead silence priceless.
“ Dead honkey” is pretty much of its time though( its an escalating back and forth between Chevy and Prior playing a word association game that gets more and more offensive until the penultimate response is the N word and prior responds with Dead Honkey).Its funny , but shocking and arguably because Prior wrote it , its not exploitative.
I assume Lindsey Buckingham is perpetually on the verge of launching into The Aristocrats, except Diondre keeps cutting him off.
as much as he would improve things, should he want to be on the show after that warm turd they served up just a few nights ago? LOL
for me the hands-down funniest part of Snakes on a Plane was when Kenan introduced Samuel L. Jackson as “the biggest pimp I know” LOL, I’m laughing as I type that picturing Kenan’s delivery and SLJ’s side eye in response
Completely forgot Kenan was in that movie until just now.
how old is Lorne Michaels at this point? He has to pass the baton to someone– preferably, multiple people– someday. It can’t just be this one singular vision for SNL anymore.
Just let SNL die with him, comedy shouldn’t be an institution.
Dick Ebersol is waiting by his phone
Lorne Michaels doesn’t write the show, he produces it. He has the most power to choose cast members and writers, but he doesn’t do so unilaterally. He has scouts that visits comedy clubs, and ties to the Groundlings and Second City, where much of the skillset required for live comedy is cultivated. Much of the sketches for more modern SNL is stuff Lorne doesn’t get, I can’t remember the quote exactly, but he said something like, “The kids get it,” so he puts trust in the current writers to make something kids like, which they generally do. I really don’t like SNL these days, and even though I liked performers like Kristen Wiig and Nasim Pedrad, they were never given decent enough material, which was either repetitive, unimaginative, or boring. But younger people still like the show, even if I no longer do. That’s kind of how it’s always been.
They tried to do the show without Lorne Michaels and it was a complete disaster. Everyone, including NBC, underestimates what is needed to run a weekly, live sketch comedy show. It’s going to be nearly impossible to replace him.
The Doumanian year was a disaster, but I don’t think the Ebersol years were.
“Michaels told him, ‘You’re not banned!’ but Jackson – who only hosted once, in 1998 – argued, ‘Yes, I am!’”
“Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation as to why Jackson hasn’t appeared on the show in 10 years.”
Editorial, help us out? I’m very confused by the timeline right now.
Jackson only hosted SNL once in 1998, but he had a cameo in the sketch embedded in the article about ten years ago. “What Up With That” often had a random celebrity or three on it besides the weekly host.Of course that means that he wasn’t invited back to host for 15 years even before he said a naughty word, so I don’t think a ban should be the de facto explanation for why he hasn’t been on in the last ten.
Touche. Wording was unclear.
Uh, 14 years. I know, math is hard. I’m a part time cashier and I see it every day. Our education system is failing…..
I think he hosted in 1998 and the 2012 appearance was a cameo.
If he’d like to host, he should have his people call their people. If they refuse to book a star of his magnitude, then he’s banned, but I doubt that’s the case.
This whole comments section is cool, but also why would Samuel L. Jackson host SNL? In the past decade, has he made a movie for which he would be the logical cast member to host SNL?A quick scan of his filmography tells me “no” but I’d hear other opinions.
Maybe “The Hateful Eight”? In any case, I’m happy to have Samuel L. Jackson on my screen anytime. “Snakes on a Plane” wasn’t going to promote itself!
Maybe, but I’m not sure anyone goes to see a Tarantino movie based on PR from the 60- and 70-somethings.
He’s not just some guy he’s Samuel L Jackson.
But what does that mean, exactly? Is there some earth-shattering Samuel L. Jackson as comedic genius narrative I’m forgetting about here?
Maybe not so much in the past decade, but since 1998? He’s had a ton of prominent roles in popular movies. Going through his filmography, you have…Deep Blue Sea (1999)Shaft (2000)Unbreakable (2000)Changing Lanes (2002, and I’m like 75% sure Affleck hosted to promote this movie)The Incredibles (2004)Coach Carter (2005)Black Snake Moan (2006)Lakeview Terrace (2008)Django Unchained (2012)The Hateful Eight (2015)Glass (2019)Shaft (2019)In all of those movies, he either plays either a lead role or the main villain. This is not to mention his appearance in five Star Wars movies (including Clone Wars) and 11(!) Marvel movies since then.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard or The Hitman’s Bodyguard’s Wife? Kong Skull Island? Captain Marvel? He’s been in stuff. Also, he’s just super famous on his own. Not every host has a new movie out that weekend (Kim K, Elon Musk, etc.).
Both of those two paid to host.
You’re joking, right? He was in THREE Marvel movies (Far From Home, cameo in Endgame and Captain Marvel) in 2019. Also, he’s Samuel L. Jackson. He’s a logical host any year.
He was in those movies, sure, but aside from Captain Marvel, he was hardly the guy they were going to get to promote it. And even then he would have been second to Larson.
It’s not that he wouldn’t have been a good choice to host literally any time, but even though he has an outsized presence in the MCU, he’s not really the guy they’re gonna call for those movies. It would make more sense to have him host for something like Shaft. But that came out out of season, I think.
Yeah, as the 5th, 7th, and 2nd on the call sheet.And logical based on what? Has he demonstrated some incredible reputation for comedy and/or SNL hosting that I’ve missed?
samuel jackson is funny. i don’t care about the rest of this but the man is funny.
Is he, though? I can’t think of a comedic Samuel L. Jackson performance, other than appearing in ‘Snakes on a Plane’, which takes a sense of humor in spite of not being a comedy.I’d be glad to learn otherwise, so kindly point me in the direction of these Samuel L. Jackson comedy roles that I’ve somehow missed.
pulp. fiction.
jackie brown
Funny moments, but not really comedies and not really comedic performances from Samuel L. Jackson.And both long before this alleged ban, although that’s less relevant.
i said he was funny, you agreed. the rest of it is you moving the goalposts. good day.
Where did I agree? I said the movies have funny moments, not him. In fact I quite clearly pointed out they aren’t comedic performances.Read better. Good day.
Is there some requirement I am unaware of that states, “You must be the lead in an upcoming movie to host SNL”? Despite the fact that he’s be in MULTIPLE marvel movies in the last decade (where one could argue he was one of the lead characters in at least a few of those), as others have stated he’s Samuel L. Jackson. He doesn’t need to be promoting anything to be asked to host.
Not a requirement, but it’s usually how it happens. Hosting SNL isn’t just a random wheel-spin, it’s tied to somebody having something coming out (movie, album, TV show, etc.) and the marketing team of that something making overtures to NBC/Universal for why a particular person should be the host.The only inexplicables I can immediately think of were Betty White and Adele when she hosted without an album to promote. Even the talentless m/billionaires made some sense because they clearly paid for the privilege of hosting.I genuinely can’t think of a reason why SLJ would be a P.R. team’s “pick” for whom they suggest host SNL to market the movie.
You can just have a dude on without them needing to be promoting something recent. They do it a couple times every season.
Why would fake billionaires host SNL? Or the very worst host that ever was and keeps on being the worst: Robert “Can’t See the Cue Cards” de Niro
Wealthy and fame-hungry, so they paid for it.And Robert de Niro isn’t very good at hosting, but he is both a close friend of Lorne Michaels and been the proper lead of movies that would benefit from the p.r. of an SNL appearance in a way I’m not sure Samuel L. Jackson has.
He’s Samuel Jackson, he’d be a great host any year, he’s literally one of the most recognizable actors in the world. This is like asking why they would have Paul McCartney on as musical guest or something.
Would he, though? He was in ‘Snakes on a Plane’ so he clearly has a sense of humor, but I’ve never seen him do something particularly comedic, and he’s not young enough to be broadening his horizons, so….
I don’t know, to me part of the appeal of SNL is that sometimes you have comedians on, sometimes you have someone on you aren’t used to doing comedy. That’s kind of what the show has always been to me. They book people for star power often.
Damn, I forgot what great legs Martin Short has.
“Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation as to why Jackson hasn’t appeared on the show in 10 years.”
The vast majority of entertainers have also not appeared on Saturday Night Live during the past decade. Not being on Saturday Night live is the natural state of being.
I mean, yeah, but SLJ is a permanent A-lister, and is really funny. Seems like a no-brainer for him to host, especially since he’s had cameo appearances on the show.
Or, I would hope, the *preferred* state of being.
Lorne Michaels has been this way from the very beginning. I believe in because I know they rehearse the sketches and Keenan probably blew the timing. What he said in that sketch when never have made it if Lorne didn’t approve because everyone knows that the show has to be on time. He does not ban you willy-nilly, and before anyone comes up with anything nefarious because Martin Lawrence has also been banned, keep in mind so has Elvis Costello and Milton Berle .
Lorne Michaels is boomer #1 that needs to go away. GO GOLFING and let us have comedy again you self-important Saturday night clogging buttmunch.
Go ahead and make as much comedy as you want. Nothing is stopping you. Nobody runs comedy.
Why everyone has to constantly shit on SNL is beyond me. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. But it’s the same argument every time – used to be good, now it sucks. Maybe just maybe you don’t have a sense of humor and are self important. This bandwagon is so obnoxious. It’s incredibly hard to write, produce, and perform a live comedy show every week.
Sudiekis dancing might be the funniest thing ever.
Here’s a question: why would anyone WANT to host SNL now ?
If he wants to cameo again then he should just reach out to the show.If he’s talking about hosting the show, that’s another matter entirely. SNL very (very) rarely has people 65+ host the show. Only 13 different individuals have done so over its 47 years, and only five of them were 70+ (and Charlton Heston and Betty White were the only 70+ hosts after 1979). Jackson is 73.The only person 65+ to host the show in the last decade since Jackson’s cameo? Trump.
Yes they deserve to host, and I hope they host it well!
So you’re stupid.
Blacklisted.
ICONIC! Love that word
Why would he even want to host again. Too much work just to promote your latest movie.