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Why Steven Seagal Was Banned from SNL: Worst Host of All Time

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Why Steven Seagal Was Banned from SNL: Worst Host of All Time

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David Spade made the time to explain why action hero Steven Seagal is the worst Saturday Night Live host ever. In 1991, the action star hosted the legendary sketch comedy show, and things did not go well. At the time, Seagal was at the pinnacle of his fame. Out For Justice had been out for a week after opening at number one in the domestic box office despite being panned by critics, so Seagal had a lot to be happy about.

Spade spoke candidly about Seagal’s 1991 hosting performance in a conversation with comedian and actor Rob Lowe on his new podcast Literally! (as reported by UPROXX). As Spade put it, Seagal’s “too cool” demeanor didn’t make for a particularly enjoyable session.

“You have to sort of trust these 30 people you don’t know,” explained Spade. “A lot of people think we’re there to make fun of them. But if we’re getting you on the show to host, we all want it to work. And if you make fun of yourself — this is where it gets tricky — it will benefit you. And we promise you. And if you don’t, and if you fight it too much — that was [Seagal]. He was too cool and he had his image [to maintain]. He couldn’t be relatable. He wouldn’t do kung-fu fighting as a cold open, or a monologue.”

Steven Seagal’s conduct was apparently so terrible that he was permanently banned from appearing on Saturday Night Live. The 1991 program is not officially accessible to stream anywhere, and there are no excerpts from the show available to watch on the NBC YouTube account. According to David Spade, when it came down to it, Seagal wanted to do things his way and would not compromise. He elaborates.

“We had something [in the monologue] where he throws in kicks or something, and it would have been amazing. And I think we walked up and get kicked and fall down. He said he would do it, but he just ‘talked it,” said Spade. “He wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t play at all, and then in the other sketches, he was fighting us.”

“A lot of [hosts], you have to go through their people when you just want to grab someone and say, ‘Hey, what about this idea?’” he continued. “And some people [like Seagal] still make you go through their people.”

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Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, has declared several times that Steven Seagal is the worst host in history. Former cast member Tim Meadows also explained why Seagal was so horrible in his book Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. He was a little more forthright than David Spade. Meadows’ comments are included below.

“The biggest problem with Steven Seagal was that he would complain about jokes that he didn’t get, so it was like – you can’t explain something to somebody in German if they don’t speak German. He just wasn’t funny and he was very critical of the cast and writing staff. He didn’t realize that you can’t tell somebody they’re stupid on Wednesday and expect them to continue writing for you on Saturday.”

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