Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Liveis one of thelongest - execute television shows of all prison term , but it has caused quite a bit of controversy throughout its 50 geezerhood on screen . 2025 cross off the fiftieth anniversary of the popular comedy show , and there are multiplespecials aboutSaturday Night Live’sanniversarycoming out in January and February of this year . One of them , SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , was just released and touches upon some of the most iconic and odd moments from the show .
SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Nightwas in the first place focused on celebrating the story and achievements of the show rather than on identifying the controversies and dirt that have taken place over the show ’s several X , though . The docuseries did search the"weird year"ofSaturday Night Live(referring to season 11 of the show ) , butSNLhas receive much more pregnant backlash for some of its decisions than it did for that unpopular season . Of all the controversial sketches fromSaturday Night Live’s50 years , these make the most significant recoil of all .
10"Nude Beach" Outraged Audiences At The Time
Year: 1988
" Nude Beach " premier onSaturday Night Liveon October 15th , 1988 , and featured doer Matthew Broderick andSNLcast members Kevin Nealon , Dana Carvey , John Lovitz , and Dennis Miller . As the claim of the survey intimate , " Nude Beach " involved the mould vacationing on a bare beach . Of naturally , given this was aired on boob tube , no actual nudeness was shown .
What audience members mainly took issue with regarding this sketch was its persistent denotation to genitalia . plain , the sketch ’s 40 total use of the word"penis"farexceeded what audience were well-situated with , asSNLreportedly meet tens of 1000 of complaint about this resume in particular . render the tilt that have happened since , this vignette does n’t rank at the top of the listing in terms of the biggestSNLcontroversies , but , at the time , this sequence received significant backlash .
This brand - new SNL docuseries , SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , just premiere on Peacock , and these are the 10 biggest reveals of them all .
9Jason Sudeikis' Jesus Impression Offended Many Christian Viewers
Year: 2011
On December 17th , 2011,SNLcast member Taran Killam and actor Jason Sudeikis act Tim Tebow and Jesus , respectively , in the " Locker Room " adumbrate . In the sketch , Jesus tells Tebow that he should rivet a bit less on beg and a spot more on his gameplay , although he sustain he has been help the Denver Broncos as a result of Tebow ’s orison . The sketch also threw in a laugh at the final stage about Mormonism being completely accurate .
The " Locker Room " survey go against many Christian viewer , with various Christian groups and religious leaders speaking out about the so-called dogmatism . The contention was primarily two - fold , first with the theme thatSNLwould pose Jesus at all , and then because many mat up the cartoon was mocking Tebow for his organized religion and his choice to beg . Nearly 15 years later , this moment is still called out as one of the most controversial in the show ’s history .
8Chris Farley & Patrick Swayze’s “Chippendales Audition” Sketch Has Been Accused Of Body Shaming
Year: 1990
On October 27th , 1990,SNLcast penis Chris Farley and Hollywood star Patrick Swayze perform the sketch " Chippendales Audition , " which saw both human race auditioning for the burlesque saltation group of the same name . This was an obvious gambling off of Swayze ’s very recent role as Johnny Castle in the now cult authoritative movieDirty Dancing(1987 ) . However , many have point out thatthe resume leaned into body dissemble as the reference of its humor .
The joke , it seems , was that Swayze had the ' idealistic ' organic structure for the burlesque company , whereas Farley did not and that , because of that , Farley had no prospect of being hired . hate for the Chippendales sketchextended to comics as well , withSNLalumnus Chris Rock saying :
" ' Chippendale ' was a weird sketch . I always hated it . The joke of it is basically , ' We ca n’t hire you because you ’re fat . ' I mean , he ’s a fat guy , and you ’re going to ask him to trip the light fantastic toe with no shirt on . OK . That ’s enough . You ’re gon na get that gag . But when he stops dancing you have to turn it in his favor . There ’s no turn there . There ’s no comical twirl to it . It ’s just f**king intend . "
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For the very reason Rock sound , this sketch remains an unpopular and problematic one inSNL’shistory .
7"Canteen Boy" Depicted Predatory Behavior Towards Boy Scouts
Year: 1994
Actor Alex Baldwin andSNLcast member ( at the clip ) Adam Sandler star in the highly controversial sketch " Canteen Boy " on February 12th , 1994 . In the sketch , Sandler plays a boy in the Boy Scouts , and Baldwin play the scoutmaster . Throughout the sketch , Baldwin pull in increasingly disturbing intimate advances towards Sandler , which include , at one point , Baldwin ripping off his shirt and ends with the two in a log Z’s pocketbook together .
Saturday Night Livereceived many ill about the survey , with viewers voicing their outrage at the show seemingly name a joke of predatory behaviour and dupe of child molestation . The Boy Scouts of America organization even commented on the resume , calling the subject area matter"unfunny"and expressing their discontentment with the determination bySNL . To appointment , this persist one of the most controversial and least like ofSNL’ssketches .
6Kenan Thompson And Blake Lively’s Tiger Woods Sketch Was Seen As Making Light Of Domestic Violence
Year: 2009
In 2009 , actress Blake Lively andSNLcast appendage Kenan Thompson perform together in a resume about Tiger Woods , with Thompson playing Woods and Lively playing Woods ' wife at the meter , Elin Nordegren . Throughout the sketch , Thompson seem injured and holds up various signs argue he has been harmed by his wife , including"I’m scared"and"She is potent . “To many , this say asSaturday Night Livemaking light of domestic violence .
In fact , even the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence show distaste over the vignette , and there was a much broader public outcry at the time as well . To make matter much risky , the musical Edgar Guest for that episode was Rihanna , who has been very heart-to-heart about her experience of being physically assaulted by her ex-husband , Chris Brown . Brown had also been charge with felony violation for this attack the very yr the episode aired .
Brown had also been charge with felony assault for this attack the very year the instalment aired .
5"Danny’s Song” Used Down Syndrome As A Punchline
Year: 2007
On February 24th , 2007 , belovedThe Officeactor Rainn Wilson appeared as the celebrity invitee onSaturday Night Live . regrettably , the episode ended up being very controversial because of the sketch entitle " Danny ’s Song . " In the sketch , which included Wilson and various stamp penis , SNLcast appendage at the time Bill Hader had a joke that used Down Syndrome as a punchline .
There was significant backlash to this sketch , with many orient out the able-bodiedism of the gag and the harmful message it conveyed about people with Down Syndrome . This also led to a response from Jon Colman , the CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society , who condemned this treatment of people with Down Syndrome in the sketch . Colman also play up that multitude with Down Syndrome merit to be esteem and celebrated , not address as a jest .
4"Father Daughter Ad" Joked About A Father Dropping His Daughter Off To Join ISIS
Year: 2015
One of the more recent additions on this list , " Father Daughter Ad , " publicise in 2015 and starred actress Dakota Johnson andSNLcast appendage Taran Killam . In the sketch , Killam played Johnson ’s begetter , who was dropping her off to link up ISIS . It was n’t decipherable at first what the premise of the skit was going to be , as it was play as little more than a male parent and daughter saying goodbye to one another under distinctive circumstances .
The graphic symbol ’s departure was revealed to be anything but typical , however , and this reveal came in the form of a jarring laugh ( which only caused even more scandalization ) . As though she was going off to do something mundane , the sketch went so far as to have Johnson drive home the line,“Dad , it ’s just ISIS,“seemingly gain light of the situation that much more . There was vivid backlash to this study , and it stay on one of the most controversial even now .
3Chevy Chase Used A Racial Slur In “Word Association”
Year: 1975
In the show ’s very first year on air , 1975 , Chevy Chase appeared in aSaturday Night Livesketch titled " Word Association , " alongside Richard Pryor . In the study , Chase use a racial aspersion , immediately make this one ofSNL’smost controversial sketches to date . amazingly , this sketch has a more complicated receipt than one might consider .
In 2014,Rolling Stonenamed this as one of the bestSNLsketches of all time . In fact , Rolling Stoneranked it in the top 10 on a list of the top 50 sketches . There has also been a interracial receipt from actors even all these years later , such as worker Don Cheadle citing it as one of his favoriteSaturday Night Livesketches in 2019 , according topopculture.com . As nuanced as the responses may be , though , this is undoubtedly one of the most controversialSNLsketches of all time , and it ’s improbable to ever lose that standing .
This is undoubtedly one of the most controversialSNLsketches of all fourth dimension , and it ’s unlikely to ever lose that standing .
2Jimmy Fallon Impersonated Chris Rock In Blackface
Year: 2000
Many will be familiar with this contention , as the video resurface and went viral on societal media just a few years ago . In 2000 , media personalityJimmy Fallon , who was anSNLcast extremity at the sentence , impersonatedSNLalumnus Chris Rock in blackface . When the picture commence circulating online , Fallon was quick to put out an apology , saying"I am very sorry for make this unquestionably offensive decision and give thanks all of you for sustain me accountable . "
Chris Rock has also weighed in on the conversation in the time since . In a 2020 consultation withThe New York Times , Rock said :
" Hey , man , I ’m friends with Jimmy . Jimmy ’s a with child guy . And he did n’t stand for anything . A lot of people want to say intention does n’t matter , but it does . And I do n’t think Jimmy Fallon intended to hurt me . And he did n’t . "
Even with the discourse around the sketch in more late days , it ’s exonerated that this will remain one of the most controversialSNLsketches of all meter because of Fallon ’s use of goods and services of blackface .
1Louis C.K.’s Jokes About Child Molestation Are Considered Among The Most Offensive SNL Moments
The exclusive most controversialSaturday Night Livesketch to date is Louis C.K. ’s 2015 soliloquy , during which he joke about kid molestation , among other thing . In plus to making jokes about a child molester not being concerned in him when he was growing up , C.K. say that it"must be amazing"for pedophiles , give how much they are willing to risk . This sketch was incredibly controversial and received significant backlash when it first aired .
This was made all the bad when , just a few years later on , C.K. was criminate of sexual actus reus and , perThe New York Times , support the accusations were on-key . There have been a phone number of sketches inSNL’slong story that have caused pregnant controversy . However , to date , the most controversialSaturday Night Livesketch of them all is arguably Louis C.K. ’s unsettling monologue .
