Amy Poehler has candidly reflected on her tenure at Saturday Night Live, acknowledging that some of the sketches from that era were offensive and “inappropriate.”
The actor and comedian was part of the SNL cast from 2001 to 2008 and shared her thoughts on past material during a conversation with former co-star Will Forte on her podcast, Good Hang.
Forte initiated the discussion by noting that looking back, it’s clear that the focus was primarily on generating laughs, regardless of the consequences. Poehler concurred, adding, “As you grow older in comedy, you realize that everything has an expiration date.”
Poehler also touched on the “In Memoriam” segment from Tom Hanks’ hosting during the show’s 50th anniversary special, which highlighted some moments that Hanks admitted “aged terribly.”
Poehler appeared in a 2004 sketch where Ben Affleck admonished a character portrayed by Fred Armisen, who seemed to have a disability. As Affleck yelled, she walked in and exclaimed, “Oh my god, Ben Affleck just yelled at that mentally challenged guy!”
Reflecting on the “In Memoriam” segment, Poehler remarked: “[It] was basically saying, ‘Here are all the times we got it wrong.’ They showcased inappropriate casting decisions. We all took on roles that we probably shouldn’t have.”
“I misappropriated. I appropriated. Sometimes I didn’t know; sometimes I did,” she continued. “It’s a real issue, and the best you can do is acknowledge your missteps, learn from them, and strive to do better.”
Her remarks come in the wake of criticism surrounding a recent SNL sketch featuring Sarah Sherman portraying a version of Aimee Lou Wood’s character from The White Lotus. The sketch involved a scenario with various characters, including James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump, Chloe Fineman’s Melania Trump, Mikey Day’s Donald Trump Jr., and Jon Hamm as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Hamm’s RFK, who was dressed as Walton Goggins’ character from The White Lotus, stated, “I’ve been having these insane ideas. What if we took all the fluoride out of the drinking water? What would that do to people’s teeth?”
The camera then cut to Sherman’s Chelsea, who sported exaggerated fake teeth. Her response, “Fluoride? What’s that?” led Wood to label the sketch as “mean and unfunny.”
Wood later confirmed that she received an unexpected apology from the show and shared that Sherman personally sent her a bouquet of flowers.
Bowen Yang noted that Wood’s reaction was “completely valid,” also echoing Poehler’s sentiments about SNL’s more contentious jokes. He reflected that “parody can sometimes cross the line” and emphasized that as comedians, it’s essential to take accountability instead of insisting on the freedom to say whatever they like, stating, “That’s just culture, it’s not about being PC or woke.”
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