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In the history of “Saturday Night Live” hosts, Adrien Brody is often remembered as one who didn’t quite hit the mark. Was his performance worse than Steven Seagal’s? Arguably not, but that’s largely because Seagal set the bar incredibly low. Despite expressing a desire to host again, Brody’s chances were seemingly dashed after he deviated from the script and launched into a prolonged impersonation of a Jamaican man, complete with dreadlocks. Even for 2003, this was deemed awkward and inappropriate. His simple task was to introduce the musical guest of the week, something most hosts manage without a hitch. Instead, he let the bit overstay its welcome.
What’s more cringe-worthy: his decision to do the bit in the first place, or the fact that he kept it going for a full 40 seconds? This incident ignited an enduring online rumor that Brody performed this bit without the show’s approval, leading to his ban from future “SNL” appearances.
The rumor is convenient for “SNL” as it absolves them of responsibility for approving the bit, and it explains why Brody hasn’t been back on the show despite his continued success. It also feeds into the growing perception of Adrien Brody as problematic. His unexpected, vigorous on-stage kiss with Halle Berry at the 2003 Oscars – later revealed to have been entirely unplanned – added fuel to the fire, suggesting that Brody might have a tendency to disregard scripts, much to the discomfort of his fellow performers.
Adrien Brody denies being banned from SNL
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In a recent interview with Vulture, Brody clarified that his Jamaican impersonation was not impromptu. He stated that he pitched the idea to the writers who approved it and provided him with the costume. He also mentioned performing it in the dress rehearsal without any issues before going live. This is corroborated by fans who attended the dress rehearsal and by the podcast “That Week in SNL”, which debunked the rumor in 2021.
According to Brody, while “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels wasn’t thrilled with his embellishments, he did allow it. Michaels is known to dislike improvisation, as it doesn’t mesh well with the precise demands of live sketches, so it’s conceivable that he held a grudge against Brody for extending the bit.
When questioned about the rumors of his ban, Brody denied them, but added, “I also have never been invited back on [laughs]. So I don’t know what to tell you.” He also revealed that he came in with a plethora of pitch ideas which reportedly left everyone speechless. He hinted at this being a Steven Seagal-like situation, wherein the aired sketches might have seemed better had we seen all the rejected pitches.
SNL’s response to the infamous incident
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At the beginning of the following “SNL” season, an episode hosted by tennis player Andy Roddick featured a meta sketch. In it, tennis legend and commentator John McEnroe analyzed Roddick’s performance as a host. When asked what could go wrong, McEnroe quipped that Roddick could “pull an Adrien Brody and start babbling in a Jamaican accent for no reason.”
This jab is reminiscent of how “SNL” treated Elon Musk in 2021, making a random comment about the poor quality of his episode in the cold open of the season 46 finale, just two weeks after Musk hosted. Given “SNL”‘s apparent distaste for Musk, it seems they only resort to such mockery when they feel the host was exceptionally bad. Like Brody, it seems unlikely that Musk will be asked to host again.
Further evidence suggesting Brody’s unofficial ban came in a 2010 episode of “Watch What Happens Live”. When host Andy Cohen asked “SNL” alum Tina Fey about the worst host during her time on the show, she initially refused to answer. However, she then reportedly mouthed “Adrien Brody” to the audience.
Fey also purportedly labeled Brody as a poor host in a 2006 Howard Stern interview. Fey is said to have recalled that Brody had an excess of bad sketch ideas and speculated that he might have been upset about many of them being turned down by the writers. While the rumor of Brody’s “SNL” ban remains unverified, it’s easy to see how it gained traction.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
