Tensions with Steven Seagal led to him being banned from the show
Over the more than fifty years Saturday Night Live has been on the air, more than one guest host has proven to be a flop. But none exceeded the program hosted by Steven Seagal. The week which preceded the show was so fraught with tension between cast, writers, and host, the crew considered cancelling the Under Siege star and presenting that week’s program without a host at all. Seagal alienated writers, cast members, crew, and others involved with the production, refusing to perform in sketches in which he was the subject of humor. Instead, he suggested sketches which typically had him disposing of the performers onstage with him by throwing them across tables, through office machinery, out windows, and into each other. The live broadcast of April 20, 1991, has never been repeated in full, blocked by SNL staff and producers.
“The biggest problem with Steven Seagal was that he would complain about jokes he didn’t get”, Tim Meadows later commented. “he just wasn’t funny…” What was worse for the rest of the performers was that Seagal was abrasive, insulting to writers, and critical of performers. The week’s tensions led to a show so bad that Rolling Stone expressed surprise the host didn’t quit in mid-show. Seagal was banned from ever appearing on the show again, a list which is not undistinguished. He shares the distinction with Chevy Chase, Elvis Costello, Sinead O’Connor, Frank Zappa, and several others. Nor was he the only guest host to create a tense atmosphere for the cast and crew of the show, which over the years has dealt with scores of them, magnified by the show being broadcast live.