When NBC announced that the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk would be hosting Saturday Night Live this week, the booking was met with righteous indignation from all corners of the internet, with some citing Musk’s controversial views on everything from Covid-19 to crypto-currency. But for the show’s longtime fans, there’s an even bigger concern: Can Musk be funny? Or will this be another all-time SNL catastrophe?
Throughout its 46 seasons, the legendary sketch-comedy show has had its share of dud hosts — with some performing so badly that longtime producer Lorne Michaels has buried their episodes deep, keeping them out of syndicated packages and off the web. Sometimes athletes or pop singers find it impossible to read jokes off a cue card. Sometimes a bigwig used to getting his way (like, y’know, Elon Musk) doesn’t want to play along with a bunch of snarky comedy writers. And sometimes there’s just bad mojo in the air — either because of what’s going on in the real world or because the host gets under the skin of SNL’s cast and crew.
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The 20 hosts below all had rough nights for a variety of reasons, from personal hubris to a general incompatibility with the show’s ethos. What follows are some wild tales of showbiz flameouts, taken from backstage accounts and from what viewers at home saw with their own astonished eyes.
