# SNL controversial hosts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [April 11, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160 "2024-04-11T16:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/1 "2024-04-11T16:08:18Z")
This was posted in the O.J. thread, and there were a lot of hosts! My first thought was Richard Pryor. Controversial, yes, also a great host. My second thought was Dice Clay. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/2 "2024-04-11T16:14:41Z")
Was Sinead O’Connor a host? If so, she qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/3 "2024-04-11T16:15:19Z")
Andrew Dice Clay and Elon Musk ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/4 "2024-04-11T16:15:39Z")
…Literally one of the worst ranked and disliked Presidents in history hosted this show. So… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/5 "2024-04-11T16:15:40Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Was Sinead O’Connor a host? If so, she qualifies. She was the musical guest ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/6 "2024-04-11T16:15:59Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …Literally one of the worst ranked and disliked Presidents in history hosted this show. So… Millard Fillmore? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/7 "2024-04-11T16:16:08Z")
Argh, I was just composing a thread on this, and the OP ninja’d me (I had been doing a post on hosts and musical guests). Here’s what I had been working on: The ones that immediately come to mind for me, other than OJ and a certain Presidential candidate at the time, are, in no particular order: **Milton Berle:** who showed up swinging around his famously huge…ego, dissing all the writer’s jokes, ad-libbing his own lame jokes, and just generally being a pompous ass, getting himself permanently banned by Lorne. **Sinead O’Connor:** I remember watching live when she ripped up the photo of the Pope. I’m a lapsed Catholic, but at the time it didn’t seem particularly outrageous to me. I wasn’t sure exactly what she was protesting, but it seemed like a not unreasonable protest move that a punky, political musician might be expected to do. David Spade had an [amusing anecdote about taking a piece of the pic](https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/sinead-oconnor-david-spade-tells-30659433) he shared on his and Dana Carvey’s ‘Fly on the Wall’ podcast. **Morgen Wallen:** the country singer who was cancelled from SNL at the last minute for violating Covid protocals, then got a second chance later on. Also was caught using the n-word, but that came out after he had hosted. Sounds like a terrific guy, in any case. **Kanye West:** By all accounts in full ‘lapsed meds’ mode at the time, having had a meltdown before the show and had to be coaxed into performing, then showed up at the end wearing a MAGA hat. Here’s an article with more. Feel free to share your anecdotes! > **[The 17 Most Controversial ‘SNL’ Hosts and Guests of All Time, Including This...](https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/worst-snl-hosts-controversial-elon-musk/steven-seagal/)** > > Fired cast member Shane Gillis hosting SNL has turned a few heads. But these celebrity hosts already went down in serious infamy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/8 "2024-04-11T16:16:53Z")
OJ was the reason for this thread, I would nominate Trump as the most controversial Host. I would give Andrew Dice Clay and Musk strong mentions. I will add Kanye. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/9 "2024-04-11T16:19:53Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I would give Andrew Dice Clay and Musk strong mentions. Oh yeah, forgot Musk, another one I should have thought of off the top of my head. He wasn’t nearly as controversial then, but I remember how stiff and alien-like he seemed while hosting. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/10 "2024-04-11T16:20:32Z")
I was going to mention Donald Trump but I see that others did already. So I’ll mention Shane Gillis, who hosted earlier this year, after being named as a new cast member in 2019 before offensive videos of him emerged and he was dropped within a week. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/11 "2024-04-11T16:21:58Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Argh, I was just composing a thread on this, and the OP ninja’d me (I had been doing a post on hosts and musical guests). Here’s what I had been working on: > > The ones that immediately come to mind for me, other than OJ and a certain Presidential candidate at the time, are, in no particular order: > > **Milton Berle:** who showed up swinging around his famously huge…ego, dissing all the writer’s jokes, ad-libbing his own lame jokes, and just generally being a pompous ass, getting himself permanently banned by Lorne. > > **Sinead O’Connor:** I remember watching live when she ripped up the photo of the Pope. I’m a lapsed Catholic, but at the time it didn’t seem particularly outrageous to me. I wasn’t sure exactly what she was protesting, but it seemed like a not unreasonable protest move that a punky, political musician might be expected to do. David Spade had an [amusing anecdote about taking a piece of the pic](https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/sinead-oconnor-david-spade-tells-30659433) he shared on his and Dana Carvey’s ‘Fly on the Wall’ podcast. > > **Morgen Wallen:** the country singer who was cancelled from SNL at the last minute for violating Covid protocals, then got a second chance later on. Also was caught using the n-word, but that came out after he had hosted. Sounds like a terrific guy, in any case. > > **Kanye West:** By all accounts in full ‘lapsed meds’ mode at the time, having had a meltdown before the show and had to be coaxed into performing, then showed up at the end wearing a MAGA hat. > > Here’s an article with more. Feel free to share your anecdotes! > > [17 Worst SNL Hosts: The Most Controversial Before Shane Gillis](https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/worst-snl-hosts-controversial-elon-musk/steven-seagal/) Three out of the four you list were musical guests not hosts. That article lists a few that were controversial because of what they did on the show. I guess there are three categories. Ones who were controversial picks to host like Trump, those that caused controversy with their actions on the show like Segal and those who are controversial in retrospect like OJ. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/12 "2024-04-11T16:25:43Z")
On one of the anniversary shows Martin Short said that despite having been friends with Lorne Michaels for many years, he had only hosted SNL once. Then he added, “You know who else has only hosted the show once? Robert Blake.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/13 "2024-04-11T16:26:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Three out of the four you list were musical guests not hosts. \*Ahem\* > [@solost](#): > > …(I had been doing a post on hosts _ **and musical guests** _)… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/14 "2024-04-11T16:28:21Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Three out of the four you list were musical guests not hosts. > > \*Ahem\* > > > [@solost](#): > > > > …(I had been doing a post on hosts _ **and musical guests** _)… But the OP only asks about hosts. You are guilty of thread drift. Guilty! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/15 "2024-04-11T16:32:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > But the OP only asks about hosts. You are guilty of thread drift. Guilty! But, your honor, if it please the court, I was only posting the contents of what I had been working on separately before the quick-posting @SuntanLotion ninja’d me. I figured musical hosts were admissable evidence. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/16 "2024-04-11T16:35:09Z")
If a musical guest doesn’t fit, you must acquit! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/17 "2024-04-11T16:36:20Z")
(Prints out enlarged pics of @SuntanLotion and @Loach 's avatar images, then rips them up in protest 😉) ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/18 "2024-04-11T16:47:19Z")
Wasteful! We’re supposed to be paperless, remember? I loaded their avatars and tore up my laptop. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/19 "2024-04-11T16:51:21Z")
> [@solost](#): > > (Prints out enlarged pics of @SuntanLotion and @Loach 's avatar images, then rips them up in protest 😉) Oh yeah? (Abruptly stops playing song and starts playing “Radio,Radio”) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160/20 "2024-04-11T16:56:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Oh yeah? > > (Abruptly stops playing song and starts playing “Radio,Radio”) Big deal, you just pissed off Lorne Michaels, not me. I like the song. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-controversial-hosts/1000160.md?page=2)