15 Celebrities Who Have been Banned from Saturday Night Live
A lot of people don’t know that Saturday Night Live actually banned famous celebrities from appearing on the show ever again. The show has tackled controversial topics in their skits but some of their guests have gone too far. There are others who were kicked out for life because they messed up their appearances so badly. This just shows Lorne Michaels isn’t afraid to give even the biggest stars the boot. Here are fifteen celebrities who have been banned from Saturday Night Live.
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Adrien Brody
Improvisation is pretty common for performers, but it’s a risky thing to do since it’s not in the plan. Some walk away with happy crowd, but Brody had the short end of the stick. The actor botched his introduction to musical guest Sean Paul. Apparently, wearing fake dreadlocks and rambling in fake patois got him banned since it wasn’t executed to Michael’s liking.
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Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase is the first – and only – former cast member to be banned from hosting SNL, which came in February 1997. Rumor has it that Chase was very verbally abusive and was regularly pitching sketch ideas that were somehow offensive to current cast members. Will Ferrell and Tim Meadows even came out to say that Chase was never nasty to them personally, but that they knew that the stories about him were 100 percent true. However, while Chase has been banned from hosting SNL, he hasn’t been banned from appearing on the show.
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Andy Kaufman
Eccentric entertainer Andy Kaufman’s SNL banishment is rather unusual. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Kaufman was a guest staple on SNL for his weird, yet funny, performances. But this all changed in 1983 when former SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol, for whatever the reason, decided to leave it up to the audience to see if Kaufman would ever return to the show. Two phone numbers were presented and viewers were asked to call one to vote “yes” and the other to vote “no.” When the results came in, the “no” votes had won, much to the SNL cast’s dismay.
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Louise Lasser
Rumor had it that she was going through some difficulties in her life at the time – and it certainly showed on the show, as she bumbled through the entire thing as a host and appeared disoriented and incoherent. She refused to appear in any sketches unless she was either alone in them or Chevy Chase was in them with her. Needless to say, she was banned from hosting after the episode aired and scores the honor of being the very first host of SNL to ever be banned from the show.
Rage Against the Machine
In a Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Steve Forbes, who in 1996 was hoping to become President, rap/punk/hard metal group Rage Against the Machine managed to get one song in before being kicked off the stage and the show forever. There was no smashing of guitars and destruction of NBC property this time; the politically-driven liberals hung American flags upside-down on their amps before performing their hit “Bulls on Parade.” The inverted flag, a symbol of distress or emergency, was meant as a protest against having Republican Forbes as a presidential candidate.
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Martin Lawrence
The comedian can never appear on SNL again after going into a lengthy and extremely explicit tirade during his monologue. He also launched into an impassioned commentary about the decline of female hygiene. It’s so explicit to the point that the entire segment has been wiped from syndication. We’re not too worried about Lawrence however. He’s in talks to make another Bad Boys movie with Will Smith. He’s not sweating SNL at all right now.
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Sinead O’Connor
You know you’re asking for trouble when you rip a photo of the Pope to shreds in front of millions of television audiences. O’Connor also sealed the deal by saying “Fight the real enemy” immediately after. Needless to say, O’Connor was never invited back, but to her credit, she’s expressed no regret about her actions from the episode. TV Guide, however, ranks it was one of the “Top 25 Biggest TV Blunders of All Time.”
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Cypress Hill
The duo didn’t botch their chances of ever appearing on the show again by saying something explicit or performing badly. Some would argue that they did banished themselves intentionally. Cypress Hill lit a joint onstage and proceeded to trash the instruments and the stage in general.
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Steven Seagal
The action star was banned from the show mostly because he was considered to be a terrible performer. There were reports that he was difficult to work with, but Lorne Michaels remembers him as the “worst host ever.” We won’t be seeing a repeat performance from Seagal on SNL ever.
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Elvis Costello
Costello was specifically instructed by the show and his label NOT to play his controversial song “Radio, Radio.” He obliged for a while and performed his hit song “Less Than Zero” for about three seconds before switching his tune to perform the former song. This resulted in a 12-year-long ban from the show.
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Charles Grodin
Grodin performed badly during his first performance on SNL. He reportedly skipped rehearsals and improvised most of his lines. It didn’t help much though since his performance continued to go downhill. His first appearance was in 1977 and now we know why he never hosted again.
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The Replacements
It’s pretty obvious why they this band can never set foot in SNL ever again. They missed entire verses, forgot, and mumbled lyrics throughout their musical performance. It didn’t help that they switched clothes between songs and started to scream obscenities at the audience.
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Milton Berle
In 1979, the early TV star was banned from the show because of his overacting and he reportedly upstaged cast members. He also sang a dreary rendition of “September Song” and it wasn’t received well. Lorne Michaels actually banned the episode from being rebroadcasted until 2003.
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Robert Blake
Blake was noted to be difficult to work with according to the cast and crew. He reportedly wadded up the script pages cast member Gary Kroeger gave to him and threw it on the latter’s face. This is exactly the type of behavior that’ll definitely guarantee a show from never calling you back to perform ever again.
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Norm MacDonald Commercials
Former SNL cast member Norm Macdonald wasn’t banned from Saturday Night Live. However, the almost legendary 1998 off-screen feud between Macdonald and NBC’s West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer led the commercials for Macdonald’s (at the time) new movie “Dirty Work” to be banned during SNL air time. Ohlmeyer originally wanted the ads banned from NBC altogether, but network president Robert Wright didn’t see the need to go to such extremes.
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From what i’ve seen on SNL, they would let anybody that could walk come on the show.
Norm MacDonald = too funny for SNL (and for most of society’s sheep).
Please, Norm MacDonald is one of the lamest “comedians” ever. The guy is just not funny. And he never has been. I quit watching the show when he took over the news portion because I couldn’t bear it it was so awful.
MacDonald wasn’t funny on SNL. Unless he was impersonating Burt Reynolds, that is.
But listen sometime to recordings of his non-SNL routines and sketches. They’re hilarious.
Right. 99 percent of people don’t find the guy funny at all…thus he is to funny for people to understand. Love the “you aren’t smart enough” to get it routine. Dane Cook fans have been pulling that tripe for years.
(A) I don’t know who Dane Cook is
(B) 67.7 percent of all statistics are completely made up by the narrator.
I remember the Replacements gig on SNL. Funniest thing on SNL for the last 20 years.
I thought the only requirement for hosting was that you had to have a pulse. SNL was noteworthy and even occassionally great for the first few years but it has been in a slow descent into obscurity ever since. It’s just taking too long to to get there.
I have banned SNL from my TV for over 15years
I’ve been banned for 17 years
20 years here…
I’m up to 21 now
Whenever Phil Hartman left, that was it for me. I watched a little bit the other night and am continuing my boycott.
I’ve only seen one episode…That’s all I needed.
I can’t believe any of these people care about being banned from awful TV. Let it die already. It hasn’t been funny for 25 years
So says someone who hasn’t watched it in 24 years.
A very bad Idea would be to put Steven Segal and Kimbo Slice with a bit, and LIVE on TV. But we can do this. Any offers?- Email me.
I would like to see Steven Seagal VS Michael Jai White – in a real fight. Seagal would need a Doctor on stand by.
Hey Tim- Is it me, or does Steven Segal look like he got his throat cut, for real? Doctor and Chiropractor on stand by for him. Agreed.
That is dumb!
SNL is DVR fodder. No way you can watch it live. You have to be able to skip most of the bits. Typically the opening and Weekend News are the only palatable parts.
“Banned from Saturday Night Live”….. What should this tell you, about SNL?
Snned’O’Conner any body?
Needs to be home by 10, just a little spoiled brat!
Saw the Elvis Costello gig live on SNL. Was pure greatness.
Liberal censorship is what some of this is.
SNL is on NBC what else do you need to know?
Funny thing is SNL is closer to real news than anything seen on Fox News!
And twice as much as on MSNBC! Is MSNBC even on the air anymore?
Yes, MSNBC is on the air.
The reality my good man is people who watch Fox News do so because the have a need for validation of their views. Fox provides that validation. People who watch Fox are simply not open to the possibility opposing views may have some validity.
On the other hand, progressive folks typically base their views on a more complete package. In other words, they weigh different views and develop a solid position. Such people do not need the constant validation wing nuts require. Hence they do not tune into MSNBC with the same frequency as do those who love Fox.
Regardless of one’s view, restricting information to only one dogma, such as that espoused by Fox or Limbaugh, never results in an honest result.
But please do continue to dwell in the world of Fox and continue as a angry person.
Un- Freak’in Believable! They called Steven Segal a celebrity!
Well look at the show we’re talking about. Like Segal, when it comes to SNL….nobody has cared for decades
Being a “celebrity” only being famous for some reason. You know who he is without every having met him in person, yes? That makes him a celebrity.
If they’d called him a “star” then you’d have something to joke about.
They should hire you as a writer! Still laughing.
SNL!!!????? Is that still on TV? Thought it died years ago.
it did 🙂
It’s a zombie…
snl-z! thats a good one!
Seems to me that SNL tripped and fell on their own faces in selecting some of these in the first place
As if that’s a problem.
None of these folks are big deals
I have not watched that show in years, and don’t want to, it’s about as funny as listening to sheep communicate. They are lucky to be banned.
Robert Blake won’t be doing any shows on SNL.
It could help ratings if he shot most of them.
Steven Seagall is a pos.
steven seagall is not a pos.
Saturday Live S..k’s anyway!
So doe’s Comcast!
Who care about SNL, who cares about celebrities & who cares about idiot unholy cesspool wood, all it produces is garbage along with the no talented idiots it thinks are talented. TV went down the tube years ago. All celebrities are capitalist pigs who drain our pocket books with there wayyyyy over paid demanded salaries in which we pay through higher priced products! Who needs $300 million dollars to live on like Ray Ramone from Every body loves Raymond or the fat guy from King of Queens who gets by on around $250 million! Then we have Steven Segall who loves & approves of Putin & is a cop here in the states?
So your feeling is that if they are able to get more money, they shouldn’t ask? Guess you don’t ask for raises at your job? Or is it just people making more than you that are pigs for ask? LOL
You don’t like the capitalist thing? Move. Russia is nice this time of year comrad…
Lorne Michaels hasn’t been relevant for years–he’s like the boxer who became a washed up loser for staying in the game for long after their prime
Who cares about SNL really? The show has been going down hill for many years now. Hardly any of the skits and performers are funny. SNL just isn’t what it once was and really it wouldn’t bother me one way or the other if they took it off the air. It’s garbage nowadays.
Possibly the worst actor I’ve ever seen, with horrible movies.
This article runs every year. Not news
Last 2 elections it was found that most information (slanderous) was from SNL.
They knows this because of errors in the “spoof” said on SNL VS what the news would report.
Lesson.. Democrats vote via SNL opinions.
I have banned SNL from my TV since 1985
Funny thing is you could put these people together with the exception of the deceased ones and Seagall(who acts like he is dead) and they would put on a better show than SNL has seen in decades.
Calling Seagal a star is really a stretch.
So is putting SNL in the same sentence with relevant
I like the guys who were banned better than ANY recent episode of SNL I’ve seen. Yup, they want audience programming to go THEIR way, don’t they?
ROSANADANA,EDDIE MURPHY DAN AKOROID JOHN BELUSHI,AFTER THAT DOWN HILL AND UNFUNNY.SAD
I love how every time SNL comes up on the internet, the armchair pundits who haven’t watched it in 30 years declare it irrelevant, unfunny, desperate for a ratings boost, and that “no one cares.”
Yet appearing on SNL remains on the must-do list of every campaigning politician and every actor trying to recover from a PR disaster…every actor with a hit movie or show still considers being invited to host SNL one of the perks of having hit “the big time”…the show continues to hire unknown performers who go on to hugely successful careers (Will Farrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers)…because it is irrelevant, unfunny, and no one cares.