Editing Weekend Update (section)

== Controversies ==

=== Norm Macdonald ===
In the mid-1990s, former Weekend Update host [[Norm Macdonald]] was fired from SNL for tackling taboo topics including the highly controversial 1994 [[Murder trial of O. J. Simpson|murder trial of O.J. Simpson]]. Macdonald's comedic approach to the sensitive subject matter often crossed lines for some viewers and network executives.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-17 |title=Norm MacDonald is Fired From 'SNL' Over (Hilarious) OJ Simpson Jokes |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/-49497/norm-macdonald-is-fired-from-snl-over-hilarious-oj-simpson-jokes-49544/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref> [[Don Ohlmeyer]], former president of [[NBC|NBC's]] West Coast division, was a close friend of [[O. J. Simpson|Simpson]], and took great offense to Macdonald's jokes, ultimately firing Macdonald for his poor taste in comedy during the 23rd season.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bedard |first=Mike |date=2021-09-20 |title=The Real Reason Norm Macdonald Was Fired From SNL |url=https://www.looper.com/610140/the-real-reason-norm-macdonald-was-fired-from-snl/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Looper |language=en-US}}</ref>

Macdonald was immensely popular with audiences, leading to questions about his abrupt removal. Controversy broke out about the comedic freedom regarding sensitive topics highlighting the complex dynamic between the network and talent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Dennis|date=2022-12-13 |title=When Norm Macdonald Unknowingly Hosted His Last 'Weekend Update' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/norm-macdonald-last-weekend-update/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref>

=== Leslie Jones ===
In May 2014, Leslie Jones was criticized for a string of slave jokes. She made a joke about [[Lupita Nyong'o|Lupita Nyong’o]] (who won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for playing real-life slave Patsy in ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]'') being named [[People (magazine)|People]] magazine’s most beautiful person, saying that during the slave days she herself would’ve been the most sought after, making comments about how she would have been paired with the best guy on that plantation and would have been the number one pick in the “slave draft.” On [[Twitter]] she responded in defending her joke and how she was sad she has to defend herself to the black community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crugnale |first=James |date=2014-05-05 |title='SNL' Weekend Update Segment Sparks Controversy Over Racially Charged Slave Jokes (Video) |url=https://www.thewrap.com/snls-leslie-jones-sparks-controversy-racially-charged-slave-jokes-video/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Michael Che and Colin Jost ===

During a joke swap segment, Che was criticized for making jokes about Beyoncé's lighter complexion and blonde hair, about [[Scarlett Johansson]] being a better "[[Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)|Black Widow]]" than [[Coretta Scott King]], and facetiously comparing Barack Obama to an [[Dodo|African dodo]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Velasquez |first=Angelina |date=2023-12-19 |title='SNL' Comic Michael Che Slammed for 'Belittling Black Women' Following 'Racist' Skit and Jokes About Beyoncé and Coretta Scott King |url=https://atlantablackstar.com/2023/12/18/comedian-michael-che-racist-snl-skit-about-beyonce-and-coretta-scott-king/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Atlanta Black Star |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the season 40 finale of ''Saturday Night Live'' in May 2015, during the "Weekend Update" segment, Colin Jost delivered a joke with the punchline "jalapeño business," a pun sounding like "all up in your business." In a recent interview on the ''Fly on the Wall'' podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, Michael Che recalled his strong disapproval of the joke, even threatening to quit if it aired.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2024-09-16 |title=Michael Che Warned Colin Jost About One 'SNL' Punchline and Said 'If You Tell That Joke on Air, I'm Quitting the Show'; the Joke Then Became a Hit: 'I Was Furious' |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/michael-che-threatened-quit-snl-colin-jost-salsa-joke-1236145916/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite his objections, Jost performed the joke, which received substantial audience laughter, intensifying Che's frustration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Carly |date=2024-09-15 |title=Michael Che Recalls Colin Jost's “Weekend Update” Joke on 'SNL' That Left Him “So Frustrated” |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/michael-che-colin-jost-weekend-update-snl-joke-frustrated-1236001935/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Jost admitted he wasn't initially keen on the joke but felt compelled to perform it after seeing Che's upset reaction. Despite the incident, Che remained on the show.

On October 21, 2020, Michael Che discussed the reversal of "[[don't ask, don't tell]]" and made a joke calling it "don't ask, don't tuck". The joke was criticized as [[transphobia|transphobic]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-02 |title='Saturday Night Live' under fire for skit criticized as 'transphobic' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/saturday-night-live-under-fire-skit-criticized-transphobic-n1256435 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Engelmeier |first=Shirley |date=2021-02-11 |title=Saturday Night Live (SNL) Joke Sparks Transphobia Debate |url=https://www.inclusion-inc.com/single-post/saturday-night-live-snl-joke-sparks-transphobia-debate |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=inclusioninc |language=en}}</ref> ''Weekend Update'' had previously come under fire for a 2016 joke about the dating app Tinder adding 37 gender identity options, a feature which Colin Jost jokingly called, "Why Democrats lost the election".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andrews |first=Travis M. |date=2021-10-25 |title=Colin Jost faces backlash after transgender joke on 'Saturday Night Live' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/23/colin-jost-faces-furious-backlash-after-transgender-joke-on-saturday-night-live/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

In an interview for [[CBS News]] on May 15, 2022, Che said, "I do think that controversy brings people to talking. And I think as long as people are talking, it's not all that bad."<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2022 |title=Michael Che on controversial comedy: "As long as people are talking it's not all that bad." |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-che-on-saturday-night-live-weekend-update-and-standup/ |url-status= |website=[[CBS News]]}}</ref>

Scarlett Johansson shared her shock over a "vulgar" joke swap between her husband, Colin Jost, and Michael Che during the December 21, 2024 ''Weekend Update''. The segment, where they read each other’s unreviewed jokes, left Johansson stunned as she watched live. She joked that Che might have a vendetta against them, adding, “I honestly feel he’s trying to get us permanently removed.”<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-24 |title=Scarlett Johansson Reveals Her “Genuine Shock” To That “Vulgar” 'SNL' Joke Swap: Michael Che “Definitely Has A Vendetta Against Us” {{!}} Decider |url=https://decider.com/2025/01/24/scarlett-johansson-genuine-shock-vulgar-snl-joke-swap-michael-che-vendetta/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-03-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite the explicit humor, she took it in stride and even suggested getting back at Che with a teleprompter swap on ''Today With Jenna & Friends''. Johansson later hosted the May 17 broadcast, where she got a chance to get back at Che by coming onto the ''Update'' desk during the joke swap and forcing him to give an embarrassing apology.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oganesyan |first1=Natalie |title=Weekend Update Joke Swap Sees Michael Che Atone For Scarlett Johansson Joke As Colin Jost Comes For Lorne Michaels' Throne: “Retire B*tch” |url=https://deadline.com/2025/05/weekend-update-joke-swap-scarlett-johansson-lorne-michaels-1236402682/ |website=Deadline |access-date=19 May 2025}}</ref>

During the December 7, 2024 episode of SNL, Jost and Che riffed about the recent assassination of United Healthcare CEO, [[Brian Thompson (businessman)|Brian Thompson]]. Viewer reactions to the politically divisive jokes were mixed, with People magazine describing how some social media users saying "Making light of someone being murdered is in poor taste," saying that NBC "owes the family an apology."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phillipp |first=Charlotte |date=2024-12-08 |title=Viewers React to Controversial 'SNL' Weekend Update Jokes About UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination |url=https://people.com/viewers-react-controversial-snl-weekend-update-jokes-about-unitedhealthcare-ceo-assassination-8758024 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref>

In a segment from the January 25, 2025 episode during Weekend Update that depicted [[Ego Nwodim]] as a businesswoman concerned about recent actions by President Trump. BET reported that many users on social media thought the bit was "offensive" saying that SNL used "Black women as the butt of a joke."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Germain |first=Tabie |date=2025-01-27 |title=SNL Under Fire for Controversial 'Weekend Update' Segment Targeting Black Women |url=https://www.bet.com/article/fozafe/snl-weekend-update-backlash-black-women |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=BET |language=en}}</ref>

=== Pete Davidson ===
In November 2018, Pete Davidson sparked controversy on ''Saturday Night Live''<nowiki/>'s ''Weekend Update'' by mocking then-congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw’s eye patch, which he wears due to a combat injury sustained as a Navy SEAL. Davidson joked that Crenshaw looked like “a hitman in a porno movie” and dismissively added, “I know he lost his eye in war or whatever."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levenson |first=Eric |date=2018-11-04 |title='SNL's' Pete Davidson mocks candidate who lost an eye in Afghanistan IED blast |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/04/us/snl-pete-davidson-dan-crenshaw/index.html |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The remark was widely condemned as insensitive to veterans. The following week, Davidson invited Crenshaw onto ''SNL'' to issue a public apology, calling it “a poor choice of words” and recognizing Crenshaw as a war hero. Crenshaw accepted and used the moment to emphasize national unity and respect for service members.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sims |first=David |date=2018-11-11 |title=A Veterans Day Apology From 'Saturday Night Live' and Pete Davidson |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/11/saturday-night-live-pete-davidson-dan-crenshaw-veterans-day/575581/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> In his 2020 Netflix special, ''Alive from New York'', Pete Davidson expressed that he felt "forced" to apologize to Dan Crenshaw during their 2018 ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance, stating, "I didn't think I did anything wrong."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-25 |title=Pete Davidson Says He Was 'Forced to Apologize' to Dan Crenshaw in New Netflix Special |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pete-davidson-says-he-was-forced-to-apologize-to-dan-crenshaw-in-new-netflix-special/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref>