While iconic NBC late night comedy show Saturday Night Live is back for another season, there are a bunch of musical guests who won’t be back. Ever. At least eight musicians and bands (that we know of) have been banned from the show since it started in 1975.
As the show is performed live for broadcast, they’ve got some strict rules on what they can air and what they can’t. So, there has to be a certain amount of trust and good faith between the showrunners and musical guests to stick to those rules. After all, the show will get tagged and potentially fined by the government for anything against FCC rules that hits the airwaves.
Many of our banned musicians ignored that trust-fall and screamed profanities into the mic. Some have done it in protest for causes they deem worthy. Others to mess with the “corporate-ness” of the show. Some others were just trying to have a good time and went too far.
All in all, it’s a pretty fun list. One of the moments from the early ’90s marked the essential end of a promising career from an internationally renowned singer. Another did something illegal that a lot of people think isn’t a big deal, at least now. See if you agree that these bands should have been blacklisted, and check out most of the performances that got them banned, below.
Musicians Who Are Banned From Saturday Night Live
These musical acts were naughty and got exiled from the NBC late night comedy show.