15 Celebs Banned From Late-Night Shows

Late-night TV can be unpredictable, and sometimes the chaos spills over into real consequences for the guests. Over the years, a surprising number of stars have found themselves barred from couches, stages, and studios after moments that pushed the limits of what producers and networks will tolerate. Some bans were short lived while others lasted for decades.

From monologues that crossed the line to backstage dustups and onstage stunts, these incidents left a mark on late-night history. Here are the celebrities whose appearances led to bans on shows like ‘The Tonight Show,’ ‘Late Show with David Letterman,’ ‘The Daily Show,’ and ‘Saturday Night Live,’ along with what happened and whether any doors ever opened again.

Joan Rivers

Rivers was banned from ‘The Tonight Show’ after she accepted her own late night program without informing Johnny Carson. The break led to a long standing rift and the show enforced the ban throughout Carson’s tenure and beyond. She continued to visit competing programs including frequent stops on ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ during the years she was off the NBC stage.

The ban finally ended when Jimmy Fallon took over ‘The Tonight Show’ and welcomed her back in 2014. She made a quick cameo on his first episode and later returned for a full interview, which formally closed one of late night’s most famous fallouts.

Bill Hicks

The comedian’s stand up set for ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ in October 1993 was recorded but removed before broadcast due to its content. That decision effectively kept Hicks off the show during his lifetime and became one of the best known examples of late night censorship of a comic. He addressed the cut publicly and the episode became a touchstone for debates about standards and practices.

Years later, ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ aired the full routine during a 2009 episode and Letterman apologized to Hicks’s family. The posthumous airing served as a correction to the original decision and preserved the set in the show’s official record.

Harmony Korine

Korine made several eccentric appearances on ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ in the 1990s until an incident backstage led to a ban. David Letterman later explained that he personally barred the filmmaker after catching him rifling through Meryl Streep’s belongings in her dressing room. The show canceled Korine’s planned spot and he stopped appearing on the program.

The story surfaced publicly years later when a fellow guest asked about Korine’s absence on air. The ban never lifted during the remainder of Letterman’s run and Korine did not return to the show.

Bobcat Goldthwait

During a 1994 taping of ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,’ Goldthwait used a lighter and set the guest chair on fire as part of a bit. The stunt triggered a fire department response, legal consequences, and a ban from the show. He later paid fines and recorded public service messages related to fire safety as part of the fallout.

The ban kept him off ‘The Tonight Show’ for the rest of Leno’s tenure. The incident has since been used as a cautionary tale for how far a guest should go with unscripted pranks on a live or live to tape program.

Hugh Grant

After a difficult 2009 interview promoting a film, Jon Stewart labeled Grant his worst guest and said he would never have him back on ‘The Daily Show.’ Stewart cited complaints Grant made to staff and on set griping about clips as the reason for drawing a line. The decision functioned as a standing ban for the rest of Stewart’s time as host.

Grant later acknowledged he had behaved poorly during that visit. Even so, there was no follow up booking to undo the prohibition while Stewart remained at the desk.

Howard Stern

Stern’s 1995 appearance on ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ included antics with two bikini clad guests and exchanges that required edits before broadcast. After the episode created headaches for NBC, Leno barred Stern from returning to the show. Stern continued to appear on other late night programs but did not sit down on Leno’s version of ‘The Tonight Show’ again.

Years later he made high profile visits to other late night franchises. The original ban from Leno’s show remained part of the lore surrounding their long running feud.

Rich Little

The impressionist’s frequent bookings on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ ended abruptly in 1982. Little wrote that he was banned after his impression of Carson irritated the host, while longtime producers argued his act had grown too familiar for the show. Whatever the exact rationale, his run of appearances stopped and did not resume.

Little went on to portray Carson in a television movie about late night’s host transition. His absence from ‘The Tonight Show’ itself became a well known example of a guest relationship that ended behind the scenes.

Sinéad O’Connor

O’Connor tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II during a live performance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1992. NBC and the show reacted by keeping her off future broadcasts, turning the moment into one of the most cited lifetime bans in the program’s history. The action prompted thousands of viewer complaints and an on air response the following week.

Although opinions shifted over time about the protest’s meaning, the original decision stood for the rest of her career. She never performed on ‘Saturday Night Live’ again after that night.

Steven Seagal

Seagal hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1991 and clashed with writers and cast throughout the week. Lorne Michaels later referred to him as the show’s worst host, and Seagal was banned from returning. Sketches struggled in rehearsal and on air, and staff recounted that he rejected jokes and proposed ideas that the show could not use.

The episode became a reference point for how a host can run afoul of the production process. Seagal was not invited back for subsequent seasons or anniversaries.

Martin Lawrence

When Lawrence hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1994 his monologue included extended remarks about women that the network deemed unacceptable for rebroadcast. NBC removed the segment from future airings and barred the comedian from appearing on the show again. Title cards and voiceovers replaced the monologue in edited versions to explain the decision.

The episode remained available only in heavily altered form. Lawrence did not return to the show in later years, and the ban has been cited in retrospectives about ‘Saturday Night Live’ controversies.

The Replacements

The band’s 1986 performance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ featured audible profanity, missed lyrics, and the group returning for the second song wearing one another’s clothes. Lorne Michaels banned the Replacements from the show after the broadcast. The chaotic set became a defining moment for the group’s national TV exposure in the 1980s.

Decades later members played other NBC programs, but the original ‘Saturday Night Live’ ban stayed part of the band’s story. Their return to 30 Rockefeller Plaza came via ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ not the show that barred them.

Rage Against the Machine

In 1996 the band hung inverted American flags on their amplifiers for a live performance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ during an episode hosted by presidential candidate Steve Forbes. Staff removed the flags before air, but the group rehung one as the cameras came up. After the first song the show canceled the second number and security escorted the band from the building, followed by a ban.

Band members later described the confrontation backstage and the decision to cut the appearance short. The incident has been revisited in music documentaries about ‘Saturday Night Live’ performances.

Cypress Hill

During a 1993 appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ the group’s DJ lit a joint on stage and the band damaged some of the rented gear during the second song. The show barred them from future bookings after the episode. The performance quickly became part of the show’s long list of live music controversies.

The members spoke openly later about going into the night intending to make a statement. The ‘Saturday Night Live’ stage did not host them again in the years that followed.

Frank Zappa

Zappa hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1978 and repeatedly broke the show’s fourth wall by mugging to camera and pointing out that he was reading cue cards. Cast members and producers objected to how the approach undercut sketches, and Zappa was banned from returning. The appearance is frequently cited by former staff as an example of a host who would not play within the ensemble format.

Zappa never appeared on the show again. His episode remains a staple in oral histories about difficult hosting gigs at the series.

Robert Blake

Blake hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1982 and clashed with the writing staff during the week. In a confrontation that circulated widely in show histories, he crumpled a script and threw it at a writer. The behind the scenes behavior led to a ban and no further invitations to host.

While the broadcast itself went on as scheduled, the production decided not to work with him again. His name often appears on lists of performers who were barred due to off camera conduct rather than an on air moment.

Share your thoughts in the comments and tell us which late night bans surprised you the most.