SNL 10 Skits That Aged Poorly

SNL: 10 Skits That Aged Poorly

SNL occasionally pushes into to controversial territory in their skits. Some of them end up being pretty offensive in the long run of things.

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Saturday Night Live has had more than it’s fair share of scandal in it’s four decades on the air. Popular examples range from Sinead O’Connor’s infamous anti-catholic performance to the controversial departures of such cast members as Norm MacDonald and Jay Pharaoh.

While SNL’s guests and cast members tend to be more common recipients of negative headlines, the show’s sketches have been far from immune to scandal. From changing cultural values to universally condemned topics, many of SNL’s skits have, for better or worse, not been able to stand the test of time. These are 10 of SNL’s sketches that have aged very poorly.

10 The History Of Vaudeville (1997)

Nathan Lane helms this controversial sketch, which like a number of the more scandalous SNL skits has seldom seen the light of day since it’s debut. It is nominally the history of Vaudeville as a genre. However the sketch takes every opportunity to feature multiple racial and cultural stereotypes as founding pillars of Vaudeville. NBC seems to have opted out of officially releasing this scene on television or their website.

9 Once Daily Estro-maxx (2011)

In an parody of medicine commercials, Bill Hader presents himself as both a beleaguered worker and a pre-op transperson who has begun using “Estro-maxx,” a fast-acting hormone replacement drug. Several male SNL cast members proceed to also give their “testaments,” with exaggerated makeup and stuffed shirts to portray the apparent effects of the medication. Not only is the sketch inherently offensive to transpeople, (essentially portraying them as a variant of crossdresser) but the joke itself is not even well structured; the punchline equating to a mean-spirited acknowledgement that transpeople often take hormones.

8 First He Cries (1979)

Host Bea Arthur portrays a doctor who is delivering a biopsy result to a couple. When she says that it came back positive for breast cancer, the husband Larry (portrayed by Bill Murray) immediately goes into hysterics over his wife Irene’s impending partial mastectomy. A narrator proceeds to explain that the sketch is part of a series exploring “mastectomy and it’s psychological effects on the men who must endure the anguish of living with ‘half a woman.’” The sketch’s joking depiction of Murray as the “true” victim only further objectifies the comparatively composed Irene.

7 Rosetta Stone (2013)

In a parody of the product’s advertisements, this sketch initially depicts several supposed buyers of Rosetta Stone. However, while their stated purposes for buying the program are initially mundane and typical, several intentionally creepy characters are gradually shown to have also used it.

These fictional buyers state that their reason for using Rosetta Stone had been to learn Thai in preparation for legally dubious activities in the country. Not only did the sketch receive criticism from audiences for stereotyping Thai culture, but the Thai government itself spoke out against the justifiably perceived insult.

6 Christmas Past (2013)

This sketch follows Taran Killam as Ebenezer Scrooge as he is guided through his early days by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge initially believes the moral is that his excessively fiscal attitude with money led him down a path of loneliness. The Ghost and Jimmy Fallon’s portrayal of the younger Scrooge on the other hand heavily imply (and then outright state) that it is due to Scrooge having been gay. While self discovery is nothing to be ashamed of, the extremely stereotypical way in which Fallon (and later Killam) plays the character comes across as heavily insensitive.

5 Regis Auditions (2000)

A premise that was repeated years later on SNL, the sketch revolves around different celebrities auditioning to become Regis Philbin’s co-host. The sketch for the most part has the expected parodies of contemporary celebrities walking in to make their case. A portion of the sketch that has been nearly culled from the internet is when Jimmy Fallon plays Chris Rock, donning blackface to do so. While NBC and Fallon have both rightfully received criticism for the racist role, the aforementioned rarity of the clip has contributed a great deal in keeping it from the focus of public opinion.

4 Director’s On Directing (1995)

Host Quentin Tarantino starred in this skit featuring a fictional talk show in which he interviews several other directors on their relationships with actresses on and off film sets. The opening monologue degrades into an insecurity-ridden rant in which Tarantino interrogates the other directors on whether or not they “jammed” the actresses in question. After additionally leveling several race and sexuality based attacks on the guests, he insists that he himself had relations with the women on his own film sets. Recent events related to the Me Too movement have exposed a great deal of corruption in this regard. Ironically Tarantino himself has been the recipient of allegations via the Me Too movement, rendering this skit to be even more uncomfortable to watch.

3 Wayne’s World (1992)

Mike Myers and Dana Carvey have acquired a relatively high amount of fame among their fellow SNL alumni as their characters Wayne and Garth respectively; the sketches even spawned two successful films in the early nineties.

In 1992 however, the two received heavy criticism for poking fun at Chelsea Clinton, who was a child at the time. Myers even wrote a letter apologizing for the jokes in response to backlash from both audiences and the White House. Understandably, this was not enough to save the crude and inappropriate remarks from being cut in future runs of the episode.

2 Canteen Boy (1994)

In 1994 Alec Baldwin and Adam Sandler were featured in a sketch that depicted the pair as a scout master and boy scout respectively. As the two sit by a camp fire, Baldwin’s scout master sits uncomfortably close to Sandler. The former makes multiple inappropriate comments and it soon becomes clear that he is making illicit advances on Sandler’s character. Baldwin proceeding to partially unbutton his shirt to further this “joke.” Many disgusted viewers did not take the serious subject matter as a joke, and future efforts by NBC to remedy the situation included a prologue that vainly establishes Sandler’s character as an adult.

1 Safelite AutoGlass (2017)

In this sketch, the premise follows a Satellite technician who is using his job as a means of hitting on a customer’s teenage daughter. The tech intentionally damages the client’s windows, using the time he spends repairing it to make his illegal advances. Safelite condemned the sketch, stating on Twitter that the show went too far. NBC proceeded to remove and replace the sketch in subsequent airings. Even now the sketch is difficult to find, as it has not been officially released by NBC and any third-party uploads are sparse.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/snl-skits-aged-poorly/

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