10 Worst ‘SNL’ Hosts and The Story Behind It

Some moments on the Saturday Night time Reside present go away viewers in stitches, whereas others not a lot. All through the present’s historical past, there have been a couple of hosts who couldn’t fairly nail the SNL comedic sense. However what occurs when a present recognized for its iconic sketches out of the blue goes off-script? The outcomes will be awkward, cringeworthy, or simply plain baffling. 

Listed here are a number of the most memorable SNL flops. Learn the way typically even the largest names can fall flat on stay TV.

Kanye West

Kanye West now Ye’s 2018 SNL look is among the many most unforgettable within the historical past of the present. His conduct each earlier than and after the present raised eyebrows. Although he was solely a musical visitor, he shocked the viewers with an off-air rant wherein he supported Donald Trump with ardour and wore a “Make America Nice Once more” hat. Chris Rock captured the rant on digital camera. This had the forged and crew go squeamish.

Invoice Hader and Jay Pharoah additionally mentioned on Watch What Occurs Reside, the over-the-top nature of Ye’s antics on SNL. Pharoah recalled one time when Ye grabbed somebody on set. Forged members like Kenan Thompson even joked about how Ye held the forged hostage in the course of the post-show moments as he continued to ramble on, stating his unpopular opinions. 

Martin Lawrence

Folks keep in mind Martin Lawrence’s 1994 stint on Saturday Night time Reside as fairly the controversy. Lawrence went off-script throughout his opening monologue and into some girls’s hygiene jokes that went to the sting of what was acceptable for the stay broadcast. His unscripted rant about private subjects, together with a reference to Lorena Bobbitt’s notorious case, shocked the forged, crew, and viewers. 

NBC closely edited the phase for the West Coast viewers, whereas the Japanese broadcast aired it uncensored. This backlash led to Lawrence being banned from the community for a time, and regardless of his claims that it was all only one large misunderstanding, the incident made for his place among the many worst SNL hosts.

Justin Bieber

On Bravo’s, Watch What Occurs Reside Invoice Hader spoke at size about Justin Bieber’s conduct on SNL in the course of the week of rehearsals, calling him the “worst-behaved” host he had ever labored with. Bieber was driving the height of his fame on the time however he additionally gave the impression to be pressured by his private life. Bieber’s perspective didn’t precisely make him a favourite with the forged or crew. His entourage of about 20 folks reportedly made it exhausting to get a lot work finished.

He additionally didn’t appear all too within the numerous sketches that went on. Hader and castmate Jay Pharoah have additionally stated that Bieber was exhausted and emotional, which made him tough to work with.

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton in 2005 as an SNL host is seemed again as fairly the awkward episode. Hilton’s on-screen persona didn’t precisely slot in with the stay sketch comedy format of SNL. As Tina Fey admitted to Howard Stern, Hilton was “unbelievably dumb and so happy with how dumb she is,” which made her obliviousness very painful in the course of the episode.

Fey additionally stated that Hilton took herself too critically, a significant hitch for anybody making an attempt to get via SNL’s sharp humor. Not with the ability to snigger at herself coupled with the stiff supply made it tough for viewers to love her.

Adrien Brody

Recent off his Oscar win for The Pianist, Adrien Brody in 2003 took to the stage of SNL to introduce the Jamaican musician Sean Paul. Brody’s strategy concerned sporting a dreadlocked wig and talking in an exaggerated Jamaican accent, which many discovered offensive and inappropriate. His joke fairly actually bombed, because the viewers responded with crickets moderately than applause. 

The uncomfortable second, which was very a lot a violation of SNL’s no-improvisation coverage, led to rumors that Brody had been banned from ever internet hosting once more. Regardless of what folks continued to say for a few years, in 2012 Brody stated that he had loved his time internet hosting. 

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase at first, introduced freshness to this system along with his weekend replace segments, however off-screen, his conduct brought about friction with the forged and crew. His ego and merciless humor alienated lots of his fellow performers, notably John Belushi, whom he would regularly make enjoyable of for his bodily look and background. Issues solely obtained worse when Chase left the present in 1976 for Hollywood.

Their feud went on till the 2 reportedly obtained right into a well-known backstage fistfight when Chase returned to host in 1978 with Invoice Murray. To make issues worse,  in 1997, SNL officers banned Chase from internet hosting after an incident the place he reportedly slapped Cheri Oteri on the again of the top. His explosive persona and the damaged relationships along with his co-stars made his time on SNL memorable for all of the improper causes.

Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal’s time as a number on Saturday Night time Reside in 1991  turned recognized for his lack of comedic timing. Former forged member Tim Meadows didn’t maintain again in expressing simply how tough Seagal was to work with. In a 2009 interview on the Tonight Present and the guide Reside From New York, Meadows described Seagal as “the worst host” as a result of he couldn’t perceive the jokes and would complain about them.  

The actor’s ego additionally clashed with the present’s fashion. Seagal insisted on writing his personal sketches, which contributed to the stress on set. Based on David Spade, the forged even thought-about doing the present and not using a host that week due to the difficulties with Seagal. 

Paula Abdul

Tina Fey, the then-head author on SNL, was not afraid to say how terrible Paula Abdul was as a number and that her efficiency was only a catastrophe. To not point out, Abdul allegedly insisted on altering elements which ended up that includes Amy Poehler as Abdul in an American Idol parody. 

Afterwards, Fey stated that the expertise was tough on everybody, and never made simpler by the very fact she was pregnant at the moment which solely added to the frustration. Paula Abdul’s time on SNL was one of many extra making an attempt moments of the present for each the host and the forged.

Milton Berle

Milton Berle, the comedy legend, well-known for his TV packages, didn’t match fairly properly with the edgy environment of SNL on the time. It was reported by a number of sources that he refused to adapt to the irreverent tone of the present, irritating the remainder of the forged. He went as far as to try to hijack the manufacturing by repeatedly calling out instructions to stagehands and the lighting crew, actually getting on the nerves of all these round him.

Milton Berle’s antics, together with ad-libbing jokes to the digital camera and pulling pranks, disrupted the move of the stay sketches. All of this and extra led to Lorne Michaels banning him from ever internet hosting once more

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello brought about a stir when he first appeared on Saturday Night time Reside in 1977; he was scheduled to play ‘Much less Than Zero’, a single from his debut album. He abruptly stopped mid-song and stated, “I am sorry, girls and gents, there is no motive to do that tune right here.” He then started to carry out ‘Radio Radio’, an anti-corporate-media tune, which utterly caught the viewers and the producers off guard. Costello has since defined that his precise dispute was along with his file label, who had imposed the unique tune selection. 

He voiced in an interview with NPR, “I had a brand-new tune able to go that I assumed was the one we must always play — and I did play — and since I did not inform the producers about it, it was slightly little bit of a stink”. This act of revolt, by no means supposed to disrupt the present, banned Costello from SNL however the second turned legendary when Costello returned to the present in 1989 to carry out ‘Radio Radio’ as soon as extra​. 

These moments, as unhealthy as they might be, make for the perfect tales. So, whereas not all SNL internet hosting gigs are remembered fondly, they certain do make for nice dialog and maintain you going again to observe them, like Taylor Swift’s SNL Journey with all of the wild and wacky sketches that aren’t to be missed.

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