Saturday Night Live has pushed boundaries for decades, but some sketches crossed the line. Join us as we explore the most shocking and controversial SNL skits that somehow made it to air. From political satire gone too far to culturally insensitive portrayals, these sketches left audiences stunned and sparked heated debates.
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00:00I'm hearing Isis, Isis, Isis, but your pamphlet says ISIL.
00:04You lack a unified brand.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:08for the Saturday night live sketches that managed to get through censors
00:12despite dealing with taboo subject matter.
00:14Whoops, my shirt fell off.
00:20Number 10.
00:20Bambi 2002.
00:22It's a good thing that satire is protected under the First Amendment.
00:26Otherwise, we're not sure Disney would have been so lenient about this TV funhouse segment.
00:31Bambi is going into the Disney vault for 10 years,
00:34depriving your child or future children of a significant emotional milestone.
00:38Even if SNL avoided any legal action,
00:41Bambi 2002 still pushed the envelope of how far you can go in satirizing a beloved Disney classic.
00:46Giving Bambi a 21st century makeover,
00:49this faux direct-to-video sequel is hilariously relentless in its send-up of corporate greed,
00:55shamelessly succumbing to the latest trends,
00:57and the essence of childhood.
00:59Bambi and the gang are back in business,
01:02and the forest has never been more fun.
01:04I'm a real big Bambi.
01:06I'm here to stay.
01:07I'm the Fresh Prince of the Forest.
01:08It's a delivery day.
01:09Robert Smigel wasn't a huge Disney fan growing up,
01:12although he developed a love for their movies upon becoming a parent.
01:15That didn't stop him from depicting Bambi's mom with head trauma
01:19or an adult film version of Pocahontas.
01:22Come on, Bob, do your exercises.
01:24What's next, a pre-scandal Jared?
01:29This commercial parody starts off innocently enough
01:31with some happy Rosetta Stone users showing off their newfound skills.
01:38In a rapid escalation of events,
01:40things take a turn for the creepy
01:42when we cut to some men who purchase the Thai version of the software
01:45for a rather perverse purpose.
01:55While most language programs teach simple conversational phrases,
01:58the Thai vocabulary seems to be tailored for very specific ends.
02:10The show received backlash from the Thai government,
02:12with the cultural minister demanding the clip be removed from YouTube
02:16for, quote,
02:19Number eight, father-daughter ad.
02:22Most of the time,
02:23SNL plays it relatively safe when it comes to current events,
02:26but this spoof of a Toyota commercial starring guest host Dakota Johnson
02:29and cast member Taran Killam
02:30drove viewers to express their outrage on Twitter.
02:40Viewers are lulled into a false sense of security,
02:42thinking that what they're watching
02:43is a heartwarming moment between a father and a daughter.
02:46Then a pickup truck full of heavily armed men comes into view.
02:52You be careful, okay?
02:54Dad, it's just ISIS.
02:57The controversial cherry on this dubious Sunday
02:59is when a tearful father tells these men to look after his daughter
03:02and one responds.
03:07So really, they couldn't have been all that surprised
03:09that this sketch would incense viewers.
03:14This sketch first made headlines
03:16when Safelite Autoglass tweeted their disappointment.
03:18The controversy only continued
03:20when SNL suddenly made it disappear without saying a word.
03:23At Safelite, we know how busy life can be.
03:25The sketchy spoof commercial involves a Safelite repairman,
03:28played by Beck Bennett,
03:29who keeps smashing a woman's car windshield
03:31in order to essentially stalk her teenage daughter,
03:34played by Melissa Villasenor.
03:35You know, I came out at halftime and it was cracked again.
03:38No worries.
03:39So, who won the game this time?
03:41While the sketch does a pretty good job mirroring the source material,
03:44these very dark added undertones just seem unnecessary.
03:48So, basically a full woman.
03:49While SNL did their best to erase any memory of this sketch,
03:52the damage had already been done.
03:57If it's not obvious already,
03:59SNL loves a good spoof commercial.
04:01In this case, they used the format of a typical pharmaceutical drug ad
04:05to introduce a much harder substance.
04:14It follows three parents who use heroin AM
04:16to keep up with their hectic lives.
04:20While I also chase this little guy.
04:22This sketch divided viewers,
04:24with some unimpressed at how flippantly the issue was being addressed,
04:27especially as SNL alums Chris Farley and John Belushi
04:31both died of drug overdoses.
04:32However, others loved the sketch,
04:34crediting it as a good way to get America talking
04:37about an uncomfortable subject.
04:39Side effects include, it's heroin.
04:42So, all that stuff.
04:47We guarantee that this skit would never fly today.
04:51In a job interview sketch,
04:52Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor engage in a word association game.
05:04Things start out innocently enough,
05:06but the game soon exposes Chase's character's prejudices,
05:09becoming heated and racially charged.
05:20In a climactic moment that makes us wince,
05:22Chase throws out the N-word
05:24and Pryor is not taking it lying down.
05:29Paul Mooney, who wrote the skit,
05:30said it was inspired by his own interview for SNL.
05:33It's been called one of the show's most shocking
05:35and greatest sketches.
05:43This recurring character played by Adam Sandler
05:45is considered an SNL classic,
05:47but this particular sketch divided audiences.
06:00Alec Baldwin plays a scoutmaster
06:02who makes obvious and uncomfortable sexual advances
06:04towards Canteen Boy.
06:06According to Baldwin,
06:07the sketch caused 300,000 phone call complaints
06:11and the loss of seven affiliates.
06:19The Boy Scouts of America weighed in on the controversy too.
06:22In response to complaints,
06:23when showing reruns,
06:24the sketch was preceded by a disclaimer
06:26saying that Canteen Boy is actually 27.
06:29Given the character's childlike nature though,
06:32the clip has a considerably darker tone.
06:35Number three,
06:36world's most evil invention.
06:38While at a supervillain convention,
06:39the attendees compete for the most evil invention in the world.
06:45There's a shrink ray and freeze gun,
06:47pretty standard villain stuff.
06:49But when Dwayne The Rock Johnson's character steps up,
06:51things take a seriously dark turn
06:53and even the other villains voice their outrage.
07:05Well, I went in a slightly different direction with the assignment.
07:08A number of viewers objected to the skit,
07:11arguing that it trivialized sexual abuse.
07:13The sketch also takes a strange turn
07:15as it's revealed that this has all been a disturbing commercial for White Castle.
07:19Number two,
07:20Shark Tank.
07:21The sharks on Shark Tank can certainly be intimidating,
07:24but not as intimidating as the pitchers in this jaw-dropping sketch.
07:29With the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria taking center stage,
07:32this sketch dived headfirst into bad taste and never came up for air.
07:36The sketch ends with the pitchers being captured thanks to Damon John,
07:40who is played by Kenan Thompson.
07:42The real John wasn't so amused, however.
07:45The shark group founder said that he,
07:47quote,
07:47wasn't excited about the topic
07:49and,
07:49quote,
07:50found it a little insensitive.
07:52However,
07:52John did appreciate the fact that he was the one who saved the world.
08:02Freeze!
08:03Drop your weapons!
08:06Nice play, Damon.
08:07Thank you very much.
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08:24Number one,
08:25Regis co-host auditions.
08:26With Kathie Lee Gifford's exit,
08:28all eyes were on Live with Regis to see who would be the new co-host.
08:33I tell you, Gilman, I can't wait to meet my potential new co-host.
08:37The setup paved the way for the SNL cast to break out their impressions,
08:41with Tracy Morgan as Star Jones,
08:43Sherry Oteri as Barbara Walters,
08:45and Anna Gasteyer as Darva Conger.
08:47I will be your friend, your lover,
08:50and your partner throughout whatever life has to offer us.
08:54Things took an awkward turn when Jimmy Fallon popped up as Chris Rock,
08:58complete with a tooth gap and full makeup.
09:01While the impression was jarring in 2000,
09:04it gained even more notoriety two decades later when it resurfaced online.
09:09Fallon apologized amid the backlash,
09:11calling it, quote,
09:12a terrible decision.
09:13I want to move forward and going forward.
09:17I want to work on being a better ally.
09:19Rock didn't express anger towards Fallon,
09:21calling him a, quote,
09:22great guy who, quote,
09:24didn't mean anything.
09:25However, Rock still considers the impression, quote,
09:28bad comedy.
09:29What current event do you most want to see SNL make fun of?
09:33Let us know in the comments below.
09:35Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
09:37and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.