Sinéad O’Connor
On October 3rd, 1992, musical guest Sinéad O’Connor took out a photo of Pope John Paul II, tore it to pieces and proclaimed we need to “fight the real enemy,” in reference to the abuse allegations against the Catholic Church. She did not include this part during her rehearsals at the show, so producers were shocked. She has been banned from the show ever since.
Sinéad O’Connor
Adrien Brody
Actor Adrien Brody hosted SNL in a 2003 episode, where he ad-libbed an introduction for Sean Paul. While he did this, he was wearing dreadlocks and speaking in a fake Jamaican accent. Lorne Michaels did not think it was very funny, and had Brody banned for the unplanned joke.
Adrien Brody
Rage Against The Machine
In 1996, Rage Against the Machine were the scheduled musical guests on SNL. They played one song and were banned before they could perform their second song because as they performed, they hung an upside-down American flag behind them. This got them banned from the show.
Rage Against The Machine
Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence hosted the show on February 19th, 1994 and he ended up having quite the controversial monologue. He made some uncouth references to female hygiene. When the episode was re-aired, that segment was dubbed over with a voiceover by writer Jim Downey. He said that the portion removed: “…was a frank and lively presentation, and nearly cost us all our jobs.” Lawrence never hosted the show again.
Martin Lawrence
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill performed on SNL in 1994. Their DJ Muggs decided to celebrate the group’s appearance on the show by lighting up a joint while onstage. It makes sense that this was their first and last appearance on the show as well.
Cypress Hill
Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal’s SNL episode is infamously not funny, but that’s not the only reason he’s never been invited back. He was notoriously unpleasant to work with and in 1992, Lorne Michaels said that Seagal was the biggest jerk and “worst host ever.”
Steven Seagal
The Replacements
Minneapolis punk group The Replacements booked an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1986. They quickly pissed everyone off and according to Rolling Stone, they “got drunk, said the f-word just off mic during their first song, switched clothes for their second, and rang up $1100 in hotel damages.” Lorne Michaels was so angry wanted to ban all artists from Warner Brother’s Records in order to retaliate, but decided just to ban the band in the end.
The Replacements
Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman was one of the most frequent hosts of SNL early on. By 1982, he had quite a controversial stage age that turned him into a polarizing figure. SNL had a phone-in poll in January 1983 that asks voters whether to keep him or dump him. With 195,544 to “dump” him and 169,186 to “keep” him, the audience’s opinion was heard.
Andy Kaufman
Robert Blake
Robert Blake was preparing to host a 1982 episode of Saturday Night Live when he decided to tear up a script he was not satisfied with and then proceeded to throw it at writer Gary Kroeger’s feet. He was banned from the show. In 2001, he was charged with murdering his wife, so we’re sure the cast and crew of SNL were glad they didn’t have to work with him.
Robert Blake
Fear
California punk band Fear were the musical guest on SNL on Halloween in 1981. They decided to get some slam dancers to mosh in front of the stage as they performed. Things got so out of hand that there was about $30,000 worth of damage (or even more) and the band was never invited back to perform again.
Fear
Milton Berle
Milton Berle hosted SNL on April 14th, 1979 and his participation caused a lot of stress. Rosie Shuster, one of the show’s writers, said that watching rehearsals with him was like “watching a comedy train accident in slow motion on a loop.” His hijacking of the rehearsals caused him to be banned from hosting again, and his episode was not rerun since then.
Milton Berle
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa hosted the show in 1978 and apparently did a “disastrous job of hosting the show,” was accused of mugging the camera, and even let the audience know that he was reading off of cue cards. Following this horrible job of hosting, he was banned from the show.
Frank Zappa
Charles Grodin
Actor and comedian Charles Grodin hosted an episode on October 29, 1977. He missed rehearsals throughout the week, flubbed lines on live TV, ruined many sketches, and even forgot that the show was live. He was quickly banned from hosting the show again.
Charles Grodin
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello was the musical guest on the December 17th, 1977 episode and he was scheduled to play “Less than Zero,” as chosen by his record label. He didn’t want to perform that song, thinking it wouldn’t make an impact on an American audience. After a few bars of the song, he stopped, told the audience “there’s no reason to do this song here,” and the band started to play the song “Radio Radio.” He was not invited back to the show until 1989. He even parodied the event on the 25th anniversary of SNL.
Elvis Costello
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson was the musical guest on the October 23rd, 2004 episode of SNL. After performing her song “Pieces of Me,” and moving on to her song “Autobiography,” the vocals for “Pieces of Me” started playing, making it obvious that she was lip-syncing. She did an impromptu jig and left the stage. She said due to severe acid reflux disease, she was advised by a doctor not to sing live. She is the only musical guest to walk off stage in the middle of a performance. She was allowed to come back a year later in 2005 and she performed without any incidents.
Ashlee Simpson
Andrew Dice Clay
When it was announced that Andrew Dice Clay would host an episode in 1990, cast member Nora Dunn said she was boycotting in protest. She believed that he was misogynistic. When he was on stage, he was heckled by many audience members who were then removed by security. Dunn’s contract was not renewed that year. Sinead O’Connor was meant to be the musical guest for that episode but she refused to perform if he was hosting.
Andrew Dice Clay
Nora Dunn
Speaking of Nora Dunn, after she boycotted the Andrew Dice Clay episode, she was left out of the next episode, which happened to be the season finale. However, Jon Lovitz said she was being let go anyway: “It’s the last show of the season. Nora… she caused a lot of trouble. [She] was very hard to get along with, and they weren’t going to ask her back, anyway… and this is how the press works. And I’m telling you I’m on the inside of this. They don’t know the story. It’s like she’s just doing it to get press. It’s her last hurrah. They’re not asking her back onto the show.”
Nora Dunn
Donald Trump
Donald Trump was invited to host SNL for a second time right in the middle of his 2016 presidential campaign. His appearance caused a lot of controversy, backlash, and protests. He appeared for a total of 12 minutes on the show due to the equal-time rule, but the episode drew in 9.3 million views, a 4-year view at the time. He has not been invited back after winning the election and we have a feeling he won’t be invited back soon.
Donald Trump
Kanye West
Kanye West was the musical guest on the September 19, 2018 episode of SNL. He sported a “Make America Great Again” hat while performing the end credits. After the performance, he went on a rant about the “liberal media” that attacked President Donald Trump as well as Kanye’s own presidential bid. He was booed by the audience and he accused the cast of bullying him for supporting Trump.
Kanye West
Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler was a popular SNL cast member throughout the 90’s. However, he was still fired from the show in 1995. Sandler became one of the most successful actors in the industry. He only returned to SNL in 2019 and in his opening monologue said: “Yeah, I was fired, I was fired, NBC said that I was done. Then I made over 4 billion dollars at the box office, so I guess you could say I won.”
Adam Sandler
Charles Rocket
Charles Rocket was a cast member on SNL when Dallas star Charlene Tilton hosted an episode in February 1981. A sketch featured characters by Rocket and Tilton openly flirting and other cast members acting jealous, leading to his character getting shot. When asked how it felt to “get shot,” during the show’s closing, Rocket responded: “Oh man, it’s the first time I’ve ever been shot in my life. I’d like to know who the f*** did it.” This contributed to his being fired from the show.
Charles Rocket
Sam Kinison
Comedian and actor Sam Kinison was featured in an episode on October 18th, 1986 where he performed a stand-up routine. His bits were controversial, as he was encouraging legalizing marijuana. When he said: “You can’t get any more pot. If you give us back the pot, we’ll forget about the crack,” his joke violated NBC policy at the time. He later made a joke about the Crucifixion. His jokes were edited out by the show.
Sam Kinison
System of a Down
When System of a Down performed on SNL in 2005, they refused to self-censor their performance, so each time they cursed during the performance it was muted. However, band member Daron Malakian yelled out “f*** yeah!” without warning, so producers couldn’t edit it live. It was edited out of the West Coast telecast.
System Of A Down
Shane Gillis
Comedian Shane Gillis was one of three new cast members chosen to be added to the lineup in 2019. However, the night before the announcement, offensive comments made by Gillis were posted online, causing a huge backlash and demands that he be removed. Four days later, Lorne Michaels’ spokesperson announced that Gillis was removed from the cast.
Shane Gillis
Jenny Slate
Actress and comedian Jenny Slate made her SNL debut on September 26th, 2009. In a sketch alongside Kristen Wiig, Slate accidentally dropped the F-bomb, leading Slate’s appearance to be significantly reduced in the rest of the season’s episodes and her eventual firing at the end of the season.
Jenny Slate
Claudine Longet
While the French pop singer never appeared on SNL herself, she was still at the center of one of the biggest SNL controversies. She allegedly shot and killed skier Valdimir “Spider” Sabich in 1976. Shortly after, SNL aired a sketch feating stock footage of skiers falling down with overdubbed gunshots in the background and a title called “The Claudine Longet Invitational.” This led to a cease and desist from her lawyer, a public apology, and the sketch was also pulled.
Claudine Longet
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen was in hot water in the early 2010s when he impersonated then-New York governor David Paterson, who is legally blind. Armisen’s impression had him wandering into and out of camera, causing many to feel like the show was mocking those who are visually impaired. Paterson himself later appeared on the show alongside Armisen.
Fred Armisen
Pete Davidson
On November 3rd, 2018 SNL cast member Pete Davidson said on Weekend Update First Impressions that Lieutenant Commander Dan Crenshaw looks like a “hitman in a porno movie.” The following week, Crenshaw appeared on the show and Davidson apologized. However, shortly after, Davidson rescinded the apology, implying that he was forced to apologize.
Pete Davidson
Matthew Broderick, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, and Jon Lovitz
In a 1988 episode, host Matthew Broderick appeared in a sketch with Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, and Jon Lovitz. In the sketchm, they were at a nude beach, which led them to utter the word “penis” over 40 times throughout the sketch. Writer William Clotworthy said: “We knew we’d hear from the public, and did we! The sketch generated 46 thousand letters of complaint. 45,999 were form letters sent to Reverend Donald Wildmon and his American Family Association.”
Matthew Broderick, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, And Jon Lovitz
Larry David
Larry David, the comedy genius who brought us Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm got in trouble for a joke he made during a monologue in a 2017 episode. He made a joke about hitting on women in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. While David is himself Jewish, the Anti-Defamation League called the joke “offensive, insensitive & unfunny all at same time.”
Larry David
Gal Gadot Kisses Kate McKinnon
A sketch featuring actress Gal Gadot and cast member Kate McKinnon parodied Wonder Woman. Kate, alongside fellow cast member Aidy Bryant played two women lost at sea who ended up on the island oof Themyscira. After spending time on the island, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman-like character kisses McKinnon’s character.
Gal Gadot Kisses Kate McKinnon
Katy Perry’s Sesame Street
In an episode, Katy Perry played a children’s library volunteer who got in trouble for her inappropriate attire. Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph were featured in the skit as the Bronx Beat ladies. During the skit, Maya’s character says: “Who cares if kids are looking at boobs? Boobs feed babies…I turned on CSI the other night, and there’s a dead guy with a worm in his eye. But we can’t look at the tops of boobs?”
Katy Perry’s Sesame Street
Kenan Thompson
In 2009, a sketch featuring Kenan Thompson playing Tiger Woods showed him holding press conferences, each time looking my battered by his wife. The sketch was criticized for making fun of domestic violence. What made matters worse was the fact that Rihanna was the musical guest, and she had been assaulted by her then-partner Chris Brown.
Kenan Thompson
Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer, who was part of the house band in 1980, was the first person to accidentally drop the F-bomb on the live show. In his 2009 memoir, Shaffer shared that after the incident, Lorne Michaels said: “You’ve broken down the last barrier.”
Paul Shaffer
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson played himself in a 2012 sketch on the recurring What’s Up With That segment. Kenan Thompson was meant to cut off Jackson mid-expletive, but he didn’t do so in time. That led Jackson to drop an F-bomb as well.
Samuel L. Jackson
Djesus Uncrossed
Christoph Waltz played a shotgun owning Jesus in a 2013 episode of the show. The sketch depicted the crucifixion in the style of a Quentin Tarantino revenge film. However, many Christian groups were furious with the depiction.
Djesus Uncrossed
Norm MacDonald
Norm MacDonald was a cast member on SNL for 5 years, during which he was the anchor of Weekend Update for three of those seasons. He was abruptly removed as Update anchor during the 1997-98 season. It is believed that he was let go after he made a joke about recently acquitted O.J. Simpson, a close friend of NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer.
Norm MacDonald
Ariana Grande
In a 2016 episode, Ariana Grande featured a musical number during her opening monologue. However, she accidentally flubbed a line and without thinking muttered “oh sh**” before continuing with the song.
Ariana Grande
Sam Rockwell
A 2018 sketch featured Sam Rockwell playing a frustrated host of a PBS science show. Things got a little too real when Rockwell said “You can’t be this f***ing stupid.”
Sam Rockwell
Chevy Chase and Bill Murray
In 1978, Chevy Chase was very well known for his talent but also for his ego. After leaving the SNL cast, he returned two years later as a host. However, he ended up in a fight backstage with Bill Murray that ended up turning into a full fledged fist fight.
Chevy Chase And Bill Murray
Fred Armisen As Obama
From 2008 until 2012, during Obama’s first term as president, Fred Armisen would impersonate him on SNL. A lot of people took issue with the fact that Armisen’s skin was darkened in order to play the role.
Fred Armisen As Obama
Louis CK
Comedian Louis CK started out his career as a comedy writer in the 1990’s, writing for Conan O’Brien, Dana Carvey, David Letterman, Chris Rock, and of course, for Saturday Night Live. When he hosted in 2015, he made a joke about child molestation that did no go over very well and was quite controversial. He later faced more criticism for sexual misconduct.
Louis CK
“Canteen Boy Goes Camping”
In a skit featuring Adam Sandler in 1994, his character “Canteen Boy” is subjected to advances from the scoutmaster, Mr. Armstrong, who is portrayed by Alec Baldwin. The skit drew a lot of criticism for seemingly making light of inappropriate conduct. This led to a disclaimer being added to the skit to clarify that “Canteen Boy” was portrayed by a 27 year old.
Canteen Boy Goes Camping
Nirvana
Nirvana made waves during the closing credits of their performance on SNL. The band decided in order to “piss off the rednecks and homophobes” and decided to kiss one another onstage as the cameras rolled.
Nirvana
“Safelite AutoGlass” Sketch
A sketch that aired in 2017 featured Beck Bennett as a Safelite AutoGlass repairman that keeps breaking a woman’s windshield repeatedly so that he could hit on her daughter. The one problem was, the daughter was 17. Safelite AutoGlass, as well as many audience members, felt the sketch was not okay.
Safelite AutoGlass Sketch
Wayne’s World Mocks Chelsea Clinton
In 1992, a “Wayne’s World” sketch that made fun of Chelsea Clinton seriously angered Hillary Clinton. Mike Myers apologized for the joke and it was removed from subsequent airings of the show.
Wayne’s World Mocks Chelsea Clinton
Kristen Stewart
When Kristen Stewart hosted SNL in 2017, she was so excited that during her monologue she accidentally let the f-bomb drop. Of course, this wasn’t the only time this has happened on the show, but it was quite endearing when it happened to her since it was out of pure excitement.
Kristen Stewart
Dave Chapelle
Dave Chapelle hosted SNL in 2016, where he decided to push the boundaries, as he tends to do. He even apologized to Lorne Michaels live. His risk paid off, as he earned an Emmy Award for his hosting.
Dave Chapelle
Elon Musk
When it was announced that billionaire Elon Musk would be hosting the show, there was a lot of backlash. Even certain SNL cast members criticized the choice. Despite the backlash, Musk went on to host the episode and even shared that he has Asperger syndrome.
Elon Musk
Richard Pryor
In December 1975, NBC network ordered the show to run the episode featuring controversial comedian Richard Pryor to be shown on a five-second delay. The engineers on the show did not know how to do this at this point, so the delay did not happen. In later airings, the episode was censored.
Richard Pryor
Bill Hader & Rainn Wilson
A 2007 episode of the show featured host Rainn Wilson in a sketch with cast member Bill Hader. In the skit, Hader reminices about his character’s father and says: “He loved this song. I remember we had this one great day at the park. We just had so much fun. He was running in the grass and chasing squirrels. They had this fountain and we threw pennies in it for hours. So great. It was the first day that I ever thought to myself: ‘I have a dad. And not that I have a dad with Down’s syndrome. He loved crayons.'” CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society Jon Colman criticized the sketch and it was later censored.
Bill Hader & Rainn Wilson
Gen Z Hospital
Many on Twitter complained about a May 2021 sketch called “Gen Z Hospital,” saying that it took expressions from African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Michael Che, who wrote the sketch responded: “I’ve been reading about how my ‘gen z’ sketch was misappropriating AAVE and I was stunned cause what the f*** is ‘AAVE’? I had to look it up. Turns out it’s an acronym for ‘African American vernacular english.’ You know, AAVE! That ol’ saying that actual black people use in conversation all the time…, Look, the sketch bombed. I’m used to that. I meant no offense to the ‘aave’ community. I love aave. Aave to the moon!”
Gen Z Hospital
Lil Nas X
While performing on the show on a May 2021 episode of SNL, Lil Nas X experienced a little bit of a wardrobe malfunction. His pants accidentally ripped, but he played it cool and continued the performance until the end without panicking.
Lil Nas X
O’Callahan & Son Pub
A 1995 sketch called “O’Callahan & Son Pub” on an episode hosted by Paul Reiser was completely plagiarized from a standup routine by Rick Shapiro. SNL Writer Jay Mohr first denied knowing about Shapiro’s act, but later admitted in his memoir that he listed the sketch word for word from Shapiro. Shapiro sued the show and gained a settlement that was undisclosed.
O’Callahan & Son Pub
Ladies Who Lunch
A sketch called “Ladies Who Lunch” in a September 2010 episode drew criticism as it seemed pretty similar to a segment called “Tiny Hats” on the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Tim Heidecker said to Vulture: “I watched it this morning, and found it to be very similar to our sketch, surprisingly similar.”
Ladies Who Lunch
River Sisters
A 2014 sketch called “River Sisters,” that was featured on an episode hosted by Sarah Silverman, was said to have been plagiarized from a sketch called “Rollin” that was performed by improv group the Groundlings.
River Sisters
Win, Lose, or Draw
On a May 2015 episode, a sketch featured a contestant on a game show similar to Win, Lose, or Draw style gameshow. The contestant panicked when he was asked to draw the prophet Mohammad. The sketch was said to be quite similar to a This Hour Has 22 Minutes sketch.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Louis CK vs. Tig Notaro
In a 2017 episode of SNL hosted by Louis CK, a sketch showed CK playing a man who hired a clown (portrayed by Bobby Moynihan) to perform at a birthday party. Comedian Tig Notaro said the show has plagiarized her short film Clown Service.
Louis CK Vs. Tig Notaro
Jonah Hill
In a 2018 episode hosted by Jonah Hill, a sketch called “America’s Got Talent: Wait, They’re Good?” was said to be eerily similar to comedian Gus Johnson’s YouTube video called “Every Episode of America’s Got Talent.” However, Johnson himself said: “I really don’t even think that SNL did anything wrong; they probably didn’t even see my stupid video anyway. I mean, you can’t keep up with all the memes on the internet.”
Jonah Hill
Temple Horses
Comedy troupe Temple Horses accused SNL of plagiarizing two sketches from them: one from October 2018 called “The Pumpkin Patch,” and the second from February 2019 called “Pound Puppy.” Group member Ryan Hoffman told Variety: “Imagine, one day you come home and it looks like somebody’s robbed your house, what do you want from that situation? We feel like somebody took our stuff, and this isn’t the kind of thing where you can just get it back or call your insurance company to have it replaced, so at this point we’re just speaking out about it.”
Temple Horses