'SNL' Writer Said Lorne Michaels Needed to Be Shot 'in the Back of the Head' After Letting Donald Trump Host in 2015
Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels came under fire by his staff, specifically one writer, who said the producer had "lost his f*****g mind" after allowing Donald Trump to host the late-night sketch comedy show.
According to The New Yorker's Susan Morrison biography, Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, writer Tim Robinson was quoted saying at the time how "someone needs to shoot him [Michaels] in the back of the head." Trump hosted the program during his presidential campaign back in 2015, and his appearance was an explicit endorsement, according to some staffers.
Michaels, 80, declared at the time how the show was neutral when it came to politics.
"It's the hardest thing for me to explain to this generation that the show is nonpartisan," Michaels said, per the biography, two weeks before Trump was elected into the White House in 2016. "We have our biases, we have our people we like better than others, but you can't be Samantha Bee." Bee, a Canadian-American comedian who rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, pointedly criticized the media for giving Trump free publicity during his campaign, taking special aim at NBC.
"I don't know," Bee said during an episode of Full Frontal in September 2016. "I guess because ratings matter more than brown people? Sure, he's making life palpably dangerous for Muslims and immigrants, but hey, he's good entertainment!"
According to Morrison's book, staff told Morrison that Michaels wanted Trump to show "some charm" after toning "down a harsh Trump sketch" in an attempt to help his "billionaire friend."
Michaels' decision to have Trump on the show didn't sit well with some staffers, who "continued to feel that they were responsible for the national disaster" of Trump's presidential victory. The book details stories of some staff "sobbing" in the writer's room on 2016's election night. "We did our best," Michaels comforted.
Aidy Bryant answered, "But we helped him get elected!"
Chris Rock even questioned Michaels, per the biography, asking, "Where are the jokes?" referring to Trump's opening monologue.
Staff accused the show of having gone "criminally soft on Trump," after being severely "confused and annoyed" by Michaels' seemingly indifference with the then-presidential hopeful.
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live is available for purchase on Tuesday, February 18, two days after SNL's 50th anniversary special airing on Sunday, February 16.
