Late in 2022, when it was revealed that Tesla and SpaceX creator Elon Musk would be presenting “Saturday Night Live,” jaws fell, and eyes opened wide. According to sources, some “SNL” cast members were outraged by his hosting role, but they will not be compelled to play with him. And the performance will go on, as Musk, who does not appear to comprehend the uproar, has solicited skit suggestions from his devoted Twitter followers.
However, Musk is hardly the only contentious guest on the NBC sketch comedy show. Here are some of the most startling hosts and performances throughout the years.
Lance Armstrong
Will Heath/ NBC/ Getty Images | The show began in part because Johnny Carson wanted more time of
When Lance Armstrong arrived on Saturday Night Live in 2005, he was riding high. He had defeated cancer, made his yellow "Livestrong" charity wristbands nearly omnipresent, and evaded repeated probes on whether he had used banned performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong was also in a famous power couple with Sheryl Crow.
Perhaps as a result of this, the Tour de France champion exhibited an unattractive arrogance when hosting. The actors and Armstrong laughed smugly about all he had endured and those who had attempted to bring him down. The hubris was offensive at the time; viewed today, long after he was forced to confess he was a cheat, the entire situation is almost unwatchable.
Ashlee Simpson
During a 2004 hosting, Simpson was the musical guest with actor Jude Law when the "La La" singer was infamously discovered lip-syncing on stage. She performed her first song without a hitch, but when it came time to play her famous single "Autobiography," things quickly degenerated.
Her band began playing the song, but the vocals for "Pieces of Me" began playing instead. She displayed a horrified grimace, and the broadcast went to commercial. In a 2018 episode of "Watch What Happens Live," the singer acknowledged the error.
Getty/ NY Post | “SNL” earned 21 Emmy nominations this year, bringing the grand total to 306
Donald Trump
Donald Trump was a budding presidential contender when he was selected to host, but his statements against immigrants and women had already generated so much controversy that NBC was inundated with complaints before his program aired. Perhaps the skeptics anticipated how poorly the evening would go.
As they slogged through several disconnected and distressingly clichéd comedy bits about the host's Twitter account and bombastic campaign pledges, everyone on stage seemed utterly unhappy. It wasn't simply lousy television. The booking destroyed SNL's credibility, rendering the following five years of Trump-bashing gags on the show look insufficient.
Adrien Brody
CHARLES SYKES/ CHARLES SYKES/ INVISION/ AP | The longest-running cast member in SNL history is Kenan Thompson, and he's still there
Things got cringe-worthy when the Oscar-winner presented the show with musical guest Sean Paul in 2003. Brody did a racially inappropriate performance in which he deviated from the script, sported artificial dreadlocks, and talked with a Jamaican accent. The "The Pianist" star was later booed off the stage and barred from ever again hosting "SNL."