Saturday Night Live: 50 Years of Apologies

I didn't watch the recent 50th anniversary celebration for Saturday Night Live. But in reading about the presentation I was intrigued by one segment, in which Tom Hanks introduced an “In Memoriam” for characters and sketches that would now be deemed inappropriate. 

Among the sketches featured – John Belushi as a samurai, one of the most popular recurring characters in the show’s early seasons; Chris Farley’s Chippendales audition, a Harry Potter sketch with Lindsay Lohan (in a low-cut blouse) as Hermione, a Weekend Update debate featuring the famous line “Jane, you ignorant slut”; Buck Henry’s portrayal of Uncle Roy (if you know, you know), and the now legendary word association test with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor – and yes, that word you’re thinking of was muted. 

Notice how, if you are of a certain age, you remember every single one of these scenes, and you enjoyed them. 

"But even though these characters, accents, and let's just call them ethnic wigs were unquestionably in poor taste, you all laughed at them," Hanks scolded. "So, if anyone should be canceled, shouldn't it be you, the audience? Something to think about.”

The way it was presented, it was honestly hard to tell if the mea culpa was sincere, or a clever way to present another collection of moments from when the show was still funny, or an attempt to have it both ways. The studio audience laughed at the clips, but Entertainment Weekly, which lost its sense of humor somewhere around 2012, declared without irony that SNL was ready to “bury its problematic past.” 

“The show called out its history of offenses, including ethnic stereotypes, sexism, underage sexual harassment, body shaming, gay panic, and other "yikes" moments,” wrote EW’s Jillian Sederholm, who I’m sure at this very moment is holding up a “Resist” sign somewhere. 

I don’t know if any Japanese Americans seething for half a century over Belushi’s samurai character will rest easier now. What I do know is pushing boundaries is what put Saturday Night Live on the map, and it’s a big reason why the show survived long enough to celebrate a 50th anniversary. 

As the book Live From New York revealed, this was a series fueled in its early days by raging hormones, counterculture convictions and illegal substances. It assembled a cast that honed their talents in the anything goes atmosphere of improv; it hired outlaw writers like Michael O’Donoghue, who once said, “I don’t think television will ever be perfected until the viewer can press a button and cause whoever is on the screen’s head to explode.” And it fully indulged in the latitude that came with a time slot far removed from the family hour. 

But now it is 2025, and what once was funny is now cruel, or discriminatory, or not showing the proper deference to other races, other cultures, other life choices that are all equally worthy of validation. No quarter is given to context, or how satire targets human flaws and vices. It’s all, if you’ll pardon the expression, black and white to the societal scolds who will not hesitate to lecture us about what we are allowed to find amusing. 

We should be used to this by now. Over the last 10-15 years there have been wave after wave of language expressions, clothing options, entertainment offerings, names of sports teams, grocery store products, etc. that were not considered offensive, but have since become so. 

I know that somehow there are still comedies on television, but I’m not sure what is still safe to find amusing in this never-ending national production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” as people dutifully nod their heads as what is admirable is viewed as weird, and what is weird is viewed as admirable. 

Thankfully, the ire directed at vintage comedy has not yet resulted in censorship. The Harry Potter sketch with Lindsay Lohan has been viewed more than 77 million times on YouTube. What does that tell you? 

In case you’ve never seen it, the sketch has students returning to Hogwarts after summer vacation. Harry and Ron are surprised when Hermione appears, having clearly ‘blossomed’ over the summer, and they become flustered. It’s funny – and it’s true to life. 

But once you are put in the position of having to explain or justify a comedy sketch, you are already on defense and will ultimately realize that no reason will be sufficient to explain why something is funny to someone who doesn’t see it that way. 

Is there anything inherently wrong about John Belushi playing a Japanese character? About Fred Armisen playing a Latino variety show host or a Native-American comedian? About Garrett Morris interpreting Weekend Update news stories for the deaf by shouting them? Or can we once again acknowledge that the ways in which people are different can be regarded in comedy, without affecting how we relate to those we encounter in our non-scripted world? Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? 

I also found it interesting that the “Coffee Talk” sketches were omitted, featuring Mike Myers, a Canadian protestant, playing a stereotypical Jewish woman from New York who was prone to burst out in Yiddish when getting “verklempt.” 

Perhaps this suggests that some groups are still fair game by the gatekeepers of what is no longer acceptable. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that so many of these arbiters of taste emanate from Ivy League institutions and liberal arts universities, of late the home of virulent anti-Israel demonstrations. Nope – no connection there. 

The issuing of apologies for things that happened 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 200 years ago, has been trending upward in recent years, though that trend is likely not to continue under the current administration. But this too will not last, news that will be celebrated by some and mourned by others. Who knows what will follow? But if SNL lasts another 50 years, one can only imagine what they’ll be apologizing for in 2075.