Recalling the skit, Rob Schneider, a former cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” stated, “I literally prayed…don’t do this,”pointing to one “cold opening” about American politics that made him realize that the iconic TV show was “over.”
The one-time SNL cast member, Rob Schneider granted Glenn Beck an interview, however, the subject quickly turned to politics and the influence of Hollywood entertainers. Schneider, a legendary comedian is known for his work on Saturday Night Live, in the movies Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and The Benchwarmers, and in stand-up comedy.
On Glenn Beck‘s podcast, the 58-year-old comedian and actor who tours doing standup, discussed the moment he realized that SNL, in particular, was hopeless in that context and how SNL changed since he left. He also revealed that the comedy shows have been “indoctrinating” viewers with more liberal political ideology; Telling Glenn Beck that listening to him helped him go from a Hollywood liberal to a conservative who would rather be ostracized than stay silent.
“I hate to crap on my own show,”he said of “SNL” during the interview.“When Hillary Clinton lost — which is understandable why she lost. She’s not exactly the most logical person in the room. And then when Kate McKinnon went out there on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in the cold opening and all that, and she’s dressed as Hillary Clinton, and she started playing ‘Hallelujah.’ I literally prayed, ‘please have a joke at the end. Don’t do this. Please don’t go down there.’ And there was no joke at the end, and I went, ‘It’s over. It’s over. It’s not gonna come back.'”
Rob Schneider (right) with David Spade and Jon Heder in the 2006 film The Benchwarmers
Schneider insisted that it wasn’t a comedy skit but rather a blatantly political statement, referencing the skit that was aired in November 2016, the week after Donald Trump was elected president. Where McKinnon turned towards the camera and said, “I’m not giving up, and neither should you,” before abruptly breaking character to give the usual “live from New York…” call to action, after singing the Leonard Cohen classic in an all-white pantsuit.
“Hillary lost and they treated the show as if it was a funeral for America. Donald Trump hadn’t even been sworn in yet and they immediately drop all comedic pretense and go straight into mourning,”reporter Holly Ash wrote about SNL’s cold opening.
“You can take the comedic indoctrination process happening with each of the late-night hosts, and you can exchange them with each other. That’s how you know it’s not interesting anymore. There’s not an independent voice anymore,”Schneider said, accusing the late-night hosts of their own political views on camera.
“It’s all indoctrination by comedic imposition,” he said.
Hollywood reporter Christian Toto wrote, claiming that Schneider isn’t the first former SNL cast member to embrace conservative politics.
“SNL alums are increasingly embracing the Right. Victoria Jackson did just that a while ago, as did Weekend Update standout Dennis Miller. Jon Lovitz needed to run his own business to realize the Right might be friendlier to his entrepreneurial dreams. David Spade doesn’t wear his politics on his sleeve, but he speaks out early and often against the Left’s cudgel, Cancel Culture.”
Toto continued, “Schneider was always willing to hear both sides of the ideological aisle, even when he voted for Democrats. He describes hearing Beck’s monologues on Fox News years ago and agreeing with some, but certainly not all, of what the conservative talker said. Schneider also weighed in on how the First Amendment is under attack.”
Rob Schneider said,“The bellwether of freedom in the world is our freedom of speech. That is under attack, and that is something we have to fight for. If I hate what you’re saying, I will fight for your right to say it.”
However, Abby Jones, an entertainment reporter for Yahoo, disagrees with Rob Schneider’s take on Kate McKinnon’s cold opening on Saturday Night Live, saying,
“While we agree with Schneider that McKinnon’s cold open was a bit hard to watch, we think its cringe effect is less about its political references, and more due to the fact that it’s really not powerful enough to ‘indoctrinate’ anyone at all.”Aside from Abby Jones, some people also don’t agree with Schneider.
