20 Times the SNL Cast Went Too Far With Their Jokes

The history of ‘Saturday Night Live’ is packed with sketches that pushed boundaries on live television. Over nearly five decades the show has aired jokes and characters that sparked letters to NBC, trended across early internet forums, and triggered apologies from the stage. This list looks at moments tied directly to cast members on the show that drew notable backlash, policy changes, edits in reruns, or on-air clarifications.

Each entry explains what aired and what happened next in simple terms. You will see dates, segments, or recurring characters when they help place the moment in show history. When a sketch resurfaced years later, that is noted along with any official responses from the performer or the network.

Chevy Chase – Word Association

In the first season a sketch with Richard Pryor used an escalating word association exercise that ended with racial slurs. The setup placed Chase as an interviewer who prodded Pryor with increasingly offensive prompts to test his reactions on camera. The performance was recorded during the live episode and became one of the show’s most cited early sketches.

The exchange was included in season retrospectives and later documentaries with context about language used on television at the time. It has been discussed in books about ‘Saturday Night Live’ for its raw approach to race and for the way broadcast standards handled slur usage in a live comedy setting.

John Belushi – Samurai Delicatessen

Belushi’s recurring samurai character spoke mock Japanese and swung a katana in everyday storefront situations. The bit appeared multiple times across the mid 1970s with exaggerated vocalizations and broad physical humor that placed the character in service jobs around New York.

By the late 1990s and 2000s, television anthologies and media history courses cited the character when charting how portrayals of Asian stereotypes were presented on network shows. Reruns and clip packages have sometimes shortened the segments and accompanying commentary often highlights how portrayals of ethnicity on ‘Saturday Night Live’ changed over time.

Dan Aykroyd – Point Counterpoint

Aykroyd and Jane Curtin spoofed ’60 Minutes’ debate segments by trading personal insults framed as commentary. The line most remembered targeted Curtin by name and used a crude epithet that shocked audiences who were used to lighter fare in the news parody slot.

The catchphrase entered pop culture quickly and was referenced by other shows in the late 1970s and 1980s. Network standards logged viewer complaints and the show adjusted how often it returned to the insult format in subsequent editions of its news parody.

Garrett Morris – News for the Hard of Hearing

Early seasons included a visual gag where Morris stood in a small picture-in-picture box and shouted the top story for viewers who were hard of hearing. The segment ran as a recurring tag at the end of ‘Weekend Update’ and leaned on volume as the joke.

Deaf and hard of hearing advocates later cited the bit in discussions about accessibility on television. The show replaced the gag in later years with real-time captioning practices for live broadcasts and the recurring shout box fell out of use in reruns and compilations.

Julia Sweeney – It’s Pat

Sweeney’s recurring character centered on coworkers who could not determine Pat’s gender. The sketches relied on awkward questions and misunderstandings in offices and restaurants and the character later appeared in a feature film spinoff.

As conversations about gender identity expanded, critics pointed to the setup as reducing a real topic to a running gag. The character has not returned as a regular sketch in modern seasons and retrospectives now frame it within the era’s approach to gender humor on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Adam Sandler – Canteen Boy

A 1994 episode featured a scoutmaster who made advances on Sandler’s naive character during a camping trip. The story used uncomfortable tension as the core joke and included physical closeness that was intentionally unsettling on camera.

The episode has aired in reruns with disclaimers and edits that acknowledge themes that read differently today. When Sandler returned to host years later, the show promoted other characters from his tenure and left this sketch out of the official highlight packages.

Norm Macdonald – OJ Simpson Jokes on Weekend Update

Macdonald’s ‘Weekend Update’ desk returned to OJ Simpson repeatedly after the trial with blunt punchlines about the case. The jokes continued even after the verdict and made the trial a recurring centerpiece of the news parody segment.

Tensions with NBC leadership over the tone of the coverage became part of show lore. Macdonald was removed from the desk in 1998 and later spoke publicly about the network’s discomfort with the sustained focus and the way he wrote the material.

Jimmy Fallon – Chris Rock Impression

In 2000 Fallon portrayed Chris Rock in a sketch while wearing dark makeup. The impersonation used Rock’s cadence and mannerisms and ran during a live episode without immediate on-air comment about the makeup choice.

Clips resurfaced widely in 2020 and Fallon issued a public apology. NBC’s digital platforms adjusted how the sketch appeared in archives and the show reaffirmed later casting practices that avoid dark makeup for impersonations.

Darrell Hammond – Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton Impressions

During the 1990s and early 2000s Hammond played civil rights leaders using dark makeup as part of the impersonations. The performances were positioned in cold opens and debate sketches and were a regular part of political coverage on the show.

As representation standards evolved the show retired the approach and reassigned certain roles. Later seasons cast Black performers in those parts and removed older clips from promotional rotations on official channels.

Fred Armisen – Barack Obama Impression

In 2008 Armisen initially portrayed Barack Obama with makeup and a vocal impression. The portrayal appeared in campaign sketches and press conference parodies through the election cycle.

By 2012 the show shifted the role to Jay Pharoah which aligned impersonations with casting that matched the subject’s race. Digital compilations from later years highlight the change and place it within broader updates to casting on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Gilda Radner – Baba Wawa

Radner’s Barbara Walters parody exaggerated a speech pattern and turned interview segments into tongue-twisting gags. The bit became a signature Radner character and aired across multiple seasons.

Media critics later debated the portrayal when discussing how television mocked speech differences. Walters herself addressed the impression in interviews over the years and the show’s archives present the character with historical framing.

Will Ferrell – Schweddy Balls

Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer played soft-spoken public radio hosts who interviewed a baker about holiday treats. Double entendres drove the joke and the sketch ran as part of a Christmas episode that season.

The phrase later inspired a limited ice cream flavor which renewed attention on the original bit. Parent groups filed complaints with stations carrying ‘Saturday Night Live’ reruns and some affiliates scheduled the sketch away from early evening replay blocks.

Pete Davidson – Dan Crenshaw Joke

In November 2018 Davidson joked about congressional candidates and made a remark about Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch. The comment aired on ‘Weekend Update’ during the final days before the midterm elections.

The following week the show invited Crenshaw to appear at the desk where Davidson apologized on air. The segment became a case study in how ‘Saturday Night Live’ handled immediate fallout from a live joke and how it used the platform to address it directly.

Michael Che – Israel Vaccine Joke

In February 2021 Che delivered a ‘Weekend Update’ line about vaccine distribution in Israel that referenced Jewish people. The joke drew criticism from organizations that monitor antisemitism and from viewers who challenged its wording.

NBC did not issue a formal correction during the episode but the line was scrutinized in coverage that weekend. The clip circulated widely online and the show continued to face questions about how it vets sensitive geopolitical jokes at the desk.

Leslie Jones – Slave Auction Dating Bit

While appearing at the ‘Weekend Update’ desk in 2014, Jones delivered a piece that referenced slavery in the context of modern dating and athletic physiques. The commentary was presented as a first person monologue and aired during a live broadcast.

The segment prompted strong responses across social media and from civil rights commentators. Jones addressed the backlash in subsequent interviews and the show continued to book her at the desk while shifting the focus of later monologues.

Mike Myers – Japanese Game Show

A mid 1990s sketch placed an American contestant on a Japanese style game show with Myers leading the proceedings. The sketch used exaggerated accents, nonsensical phrases, and slapstick penalties as the contestant failed challenges.

Media watchdogs later cited the piece when discussing portrayals of Asian culture on network comedy. Some streaming and rerun presentations include the sketch with surrounding context about international representation on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Taran Killam – Djesus Uncrossed

In 2013 a Tarantino style trailer reimagined a revenge epic with religious figures. Cast members portrayed disciples and the sketch leaned on stylized violence to sell the parody.

Religious organizations filed complaints after the broadcast and the sketch was not heavily replayed on official platforms. Discussions about the bit appear in later season wrap-ups that track how the show approached faith based satire in that period.

Beck Bennett – Safelite Parody

A 2017 commercial parody depicted a windshield repair technician who kept finding reasons to visit a teenage customer. The piece framed the brand’s service model as a setup for predatory behavior and used a series of visits to land the joke.

The real company objected publicly, and the sketch’s official upload was limited on certain platforms after the weekend. The moment is now referenced when advertisers and shows talk about how far spoof ads should go when using real brand names.

Mikey Day – Gen Z Hospital

In 2021 a hospital sketch used heavy slang associated with online youth culture while Elon Musk guest hosted. Cast members played friends who spoke in a stream of internet catchphrases as they reacted to a medical emergency.

The piece drew negative responses for its understanding of slang and for the way it portrayed speech patterns tied to Black culture. The show did not pull the clip from its official channels but it did not become a staple in later highlight reels.

Chris Rock – Boston Marathon Monologue

When Rock returned as host in 2014 he delivered a monologue that included references to the Boston Marathon and the new World Trade Center. The jokes were framed as commentary on public spaces and security and were delivered to a live studio audience.

Family advocates and local media in Boston criticized the timing and content. NBC left the monologue intact in the episode replay while coverage documented the reaction and the show’s choice to keep the set as aired in the archives of ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Share the moments you think we missed or got exactly right in the comments so we can keep the conversation going.