Saturday Night Live, or more colloquially known as SNL, is a long-running comedy sketch show that has been on air since 1975. The show features an ensemble cast of comedic regulars, musical acts and guest hosts. It always covers pop-culture zeitgeist and many of the show’s sketches often go viral, especially when they revolve around a certain U.S. President. SNL has become a staple in many people’s lives, with viewers looking forward to the musical performers and new guest hosts each week.
Over the years, several celebrities have hosted SNL. From Betty White to Steve Martin, plenty of celebrities have made their name as the best hosts of SNL. Conversely, there are a number of hosts who have become recognized as the worst guests to ever host the show. While some of the hosts were just plain bad, others went beyond simply being bad and crossed the line into being controversial. These are the most controversial hosts in the history of SNL.
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9 Donald Trump
NBC
Considering his past statements and outlandish behavior as President of the United States, it comes as no surprise that Donald Trump should make this list. However, long before he was elected, he managed to snag himself a spot as host on SNL back in 2015. Trump, of course, made jokes about his wealth and his tweets. His presence on the show led to hundreds of people protesting outside Rockefeller Plaza, where the show is filmed (via Vox). Not exactly the best choice on behalf of SNL.
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8 Adrien Brody
While Brody himself is not a very controversial actor, his actions on SNL were not exactly desirable. Back in 2003, Adrien Brody hosted alongside musical guest Sean Paul. It was not Brody’s monologue that was problematic, but rather his performance in a skit where he went off-script, wore dreadlocks, and spoke in a Jamaican accent. This highly offensive performance from this Oscar-winning actor led to being booed off-stage and being banned from ever-hosting SNL in the future.
7 Sinead O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor has become known not only for her music, but for portraying her radical views on television, as she did on SNL. In 1992, O’Connor turned her performance into a protest as, during her music number, she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on air in order to protest sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This scene became an iconic representation of the singer’s strong beliefs, but also proved blasphemous for many members of the Catholic community.
6 Steven Seagal
Known for a plethora of action films in which he claimed to have done his own stunts, Steven Seagal has also had a number of allegations of sexual harassment and assault thrown his way over the course of more than two decades. But before all this came to light, Seagal made an appearance as host on SNL in 1991. His performance on the show was so bad that clips of his episode never made it to air and no recordings of the episode are available for viewing, essentially wiping Seagal from SNL’s history forever (via Looper).
5 Bill Burr
Bill Burr’s comedy is definitely an acquired taste. Known for his somewhat dark sense of humor and his small roles in film and TV, as seen on The Mandalorian, Burr divided audiences with his monologue on SNL — specifically, his statement about white women who have deemed themselves the leaders of the “woke movement.” While this statement may not seem that bad to some, others felt that Burr crossed the line. You can decide for yourself by watching his monologue on YouTube.
4 Ashlee Simpson
In 2004, Ashlee Simpson made an appearance as host alongside Jude Law. While Simpson was not controversial in the classically offensive sense, her appearance was still bad. During her musical performance of the song “Autobiography,” her band began to play the song, but the vocals for a different song called “Pieces of Me” played instead. Simpson was dumbstruck on camera before the show went to commercial. Many years later, Simpson took responsibility for the mistake.
3 Lance Armstrong
In 2005, cycling pro Lance Armstrong hosted an episode of SNL. As this episode came out when the doping allegations were uncovered, choosing to have Armstrong host was a bit of a dicey decision to begin with. During his opening monologue, Armstrong made a self-deprecating joke about the doping allegations, saying that the last time he achieved something good, his urine was tested. While this may not seem like a big deal, the reality of Armstrong’s cheating being found out later rendered this joke in very poor taste.
2 Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence is a comedian known for films like Bad Boys and Big Momma’s House. He hosted an episode of SNL in 1994, and it did not go over as well as he hoped. Lawrence made the decision to improvise his opening monologue, during which he spoke about feminine hygiene. This monologue resulted in hundreds of complaints to the network and led to him being banned from the show permanently. When Lawrence spoke out about the experience, he stated that he wasn’t banned from SNL, but was banned from their network, NBC, for a while, who wound up sending Lawrence an apology letter for their actions.
1 Rudy Giuliani
This name may not be familiar to some, but Rudy Giuliani was a lawyer and politician who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City. Giuliani is not a natural entertainer, considering his profession, and has indeed made many lists as one of the worst hosts to ever don the stage at SNL. Despite this, he hosted a total of three episodes, during one of which he got friendly with Saddam Hussein, a skit that did not go over well with audiences everywhere as it was just in bad taste.
