Being famous does have its perks but acting like a complete fool on live television can and will get famous people banned if the show’s producers see fit. Saturday Night Live has been running for over 40 years with a handful of celebrities belonging to a batch famously banned by the show for antics that were rude, weird, and just plain questionable. From drugs and alcohol, to political views and inflated egos, these men and women earned their spot on the list.
“Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels has a zero tolerance policy for the use of alcohol and drugs on set. That’s really for very obvious reasons but apparently, rap group Cypress Hill either didn’t know or just didn’t care. DJ Muggs lit a joint during their performance of, “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That.”
As a result, Cypress Hill never returned to the “Saturday Night Live” stage.
Halloween 1981 saw the notorious punk rockers’ performance turn into anarchy. John Belushi, then–Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye, Harley Flanagan, and John Joseph took to the stage during, “Let’s Have a War.”
Fear’s frontman, Lee Ving, recalled:
“The real audience at Saturday Night Live was scared… The camera people were trying to protect their cameras. Dick Ebersol, who was stage manager, got hit in the chest with a pumpkin. As we finish “Let’s Have a War,” one of the kids grabs the microphone, stuck it in his mouth and screamed, “F*ck New York!” And the main NBC guy was at home watching with his wife and freaked out.”
Fear was banned but it was a day not forgotten by execs.
Comedian and actor Charles Grodin really upset a lot of people on his October 29, 1977 “SNL” hosting gig. Grodin ad-libbed so much and that did not end well as he broke character during a sketch and caused quite a stir. He did miss much of the week’s rehearsals.
The Replacements totally ignored the show’s policy on alcohol and drugs when they performed on January 18, 1986. Band members were obviously under the influence of alcohol but it was when singer Paul Westerberg cursed on live TV that did it. The band was banned but in 1993, Westerberg found himself on the show this time performing solo.
5. Rage Against The Machine
Billionaire Steve Forbes hosted the April 13, 1996 episode. That’s when Rage Against the Machine chose to make a political statement alongside a presidential hopeful. The band hung upside down American flags from their gear before performing “Bulls on Parade”. Crew members removed both the flags and the band from the stage. RATM was banned for life.
On February 19, 1994, Martin Lawrence began to point out the racial make-up of the studio audience. Then he went on a rant as if he was testing the limits of censors and producers around the globe This was the 90’s, with Lawrence sharing his views on women and their declining hygiene practices. Lawrence was banned from the series with his rant removed on future repeats.
There are numerous stories out there on Seagal. He was to host the April 20, 1991 episode, but “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels called Seagal the “biggest jerk to ever be on the show”. Michaels said that Seagal wasn’t nice with the cast and crew. Seagal was never invited back to say the least. Just one among many unpleasant stories about Steven.
Brody drew the ire of show producer Lorne Michaels when he went off-script. He donned dreadlocks and did a really bad accent as he introduced Jamaican performer Sean Paul. This was after he kept rejecting sketches during meetings the entire week, already getting on Michaels’ nerves.
Blake wasn’t very friendly behind the scenes. Robert often disagreed and argued with the cast, producers, and writers before his November 13, 1982 hosting gig. He even threw a script in the face of cast member and writer Gary Kroeger. Blake hosted his episode but that was to be his last. He wasn’t invited again.
David Bowie was to perform “Telling Lies” from his
Earthling album. Show producer Lorne Michaels did not like Bowie’s choice, 1981’s “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” as he had a history with it. For some reason, Bowie went ahead and performed “Scary Monsters”. This resulted in Michaels banning Bowie for a short time.
Actress Louise Lasser was incoherent during her hosting appearance on July 24, 1976. She is the first to ever be banned on SNL by the way. According to production assistant Neil Levy, Lasser went through the “SNL” offices looking for drugs. She was lit enough as it was during her appearance.
Comedian and actor Milton Berle’s ego got the better of him when he hosted SNL on April 14, 1979. Berle upstaged cast members and writers, described as a “a comedy train accident in slow motion, on a loop,” Berle went off script as well which finally led to him being banned from the show.
Sinéad O’Connor protested against the Catholic Church during her performance of Bob Marley’s “War” by changing lyrics in the song. She began to talk about about child abuse before tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II. Sinéad told the stunned audience to “fight the real enemy,” causing the the camera to pan away. Her little stunt was edited out of future repeats and she was never invited back.
Acclaimed actor Chevy Chase only got a soft ban on “Saturday Night Live”. Chase was having trouble getting along with his former colleagues. He was once a member though, being one of the original ones. Chase eventually returned to his old anchor desk in 2007.
Fans were responsible for comedian Andy Kaufman being banned from the show. NBC received numerous complaints about Kaufman. The network let fans vote via a 1-900 number. Kaufman was to either be allowed to continue or be banned. Fans voted and he never returned to SNL.
Singer Elvis Costello went rogue during a December 17, 1977 performance. He was with The Attractions, and he just stopped the band as they were playing to start “Radio Radio.” Costello was banned from lots of channels years after his stunt. Costello returned to “SNL” in 1999. He interrupted the Beastie Boys and performed “Radio Radio” once again.
Zappa was both the host and musical guest for the October 21, 1978 episode. Like other personalities on the list, Zappa didn’t exactly get along with the cast and crew. He also made it obvious that he was reading cue cards during the broadcast. Most of the crew refused to interact with Zappa in the “goodnight” segment. Eventually, he was banned from SNL.
West has appeared on SNL seven times. But when he was invited back, West, instead of performing a song, delivered an off-the-cuff speech in praise of then President Donald Trump. NBC cut the speech short for viewers but West continued to walk around the stage. Amidst boos from the studio audience, host Adam Driver and cast member Chris Redd walked off. West’s antics led to a ban from SNL.
The band refused to perform an edited version of their song B.Y.O.B. Show producers were already on alert as ‘Bring Your Own Bombs’ was written in protest against the Iraq War. NBC censorship bleeped out the word ‘fuck’ five times as the lyric had the band yelling: “Where the fuck are you?”
System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian did not enjoy the censorship. He turned to the microphone and proudly shouted “f** yeah” in protest after the performance, taking away all the staff’s hard work and eventual sighs of relief.
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Being famous does have its perks but acting like a complete fool on live television can and will get famous people banned if the show’s producers see fit. Saturday Night Live has been running for over 40 years with a handful of celebrities belonging to a batch famously banned by the show for antics that were rude, weird, and just plain questionable. From drugs and alcohol, to political views and inflated egos, these men and women earned their spot on the list.