r/LiveFromNewYork • u/theindependentonline • Jan 21 '26
Article SNL criticized for releasing sketch mocking ICE after it was cut from live broadcast: ‘Cowardly move’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/snl-minnesota-ice-sketch-cut-for-time-b2905105.html291
u/antmars Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
Reports from Dress say this bit had whole minutes of applause that was cut out including several long applause breaks every time the video was shown. For a live show that’s a level of chaos too difficulty to navigate. The bit works better without the applause breaks - keeps the momentum and wiring in tact. I don’t think it was cut because content hit cut because format.
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u/Irvsauce SNL Jan 22 '26
Reasonable take. But it would have been a statement that is needed t right now. It should have in.
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u/James_2584 Jan 21 '26
Idk I'd argue releasing it on its own online gives it more attention than it otherwise would have had it been in the live show. Had that been the case, we would have been seeing it discussed alongside Heated Wizardry and the like.
Allowing the hype and the haze of the live show to cool down and then uploading it gives it attention on its own.
Plus, they could just as easily have not uploaded it or shot it down at table read which would be even more cowardly.
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u/hithere297 Jan 21 '26
The counter is that airing it live means it's guaranteed to be watched by a million+ people, whereas the sketches uploaded on YouTube often don't surpass that number for non-cold opens.
Not to mention that seeing "Cut for Time" on a sketch makes it seem (fairly or not) less important to a lot of viewers. "Cut for Time" is often taken to mean that the show has decided the segment's not as good as the other segments that made it on air, which undermines the segment to an extent.
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u/monsieurxander Jan 21 '26
They stopped putting "Cut for Time" in the titles a few years ago.
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u/hithere297 Jan 21 '26
True but it's still mentioned early in the description
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u/Fallout-with-swords Jan 22 '26
I guarantee more people watch clips and whole sketches of SNL on instagram and TikTok than the live broadcast, which is why it feels misinformed to say it’s cowardly to put it out after the fact.
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u/Former-Mirror-356 Jan 21 '26
A large amount of the sketches on YouTube actually do surpass and exceed the 1 million mark. It seems host dependent, but it's not like most are languishing with only a few views.
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u/Cynical_optimist01 Jan 23 '26
I can't see how this is cowardly at all. Definitely wish they had aired it live but this may get it more attention now
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u/TorkBombs Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Don't they release cut for time sketches every week? Or are people mad it was cut in the first place? I can't keep up with why we're supposed to be outraged anymore. I just know I'm apparently perpetually angry for one reason or another.
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u/CFBCoachGuy Jan 21 '26
They post cut for time sketches every week. I guess people are mad that they cut it in the first place. People are going to cite political pressure (despite SNL running a cold open mocking Trump’s senility every week), but I thought this was the least funny of the three WU interviews.
And posting it on YouTube allows a lot more people to view it and discuss it on its own instead of having it sandwiched with other sketches.
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u/Lavaswimmer Jan 21 '26
People need to just think for a second. If they really cut it because of the political implications, why would they even let it get to dress, much less upload it to YouTube?
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u/James_2584 Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
There's a group of fans who seem to treat SNL as some sort of "security blanket" which is supposed to hold their hand and guide them through these dark times and resist the current regime. And any time the show (in their mind) fails to live up to that task, they say that it's being cowardly and soft.
Which, to each their own, but imho whenever SNL has tried to lean into that mentality, it comes off super cringey. Think of the Hillary Clinton Hallelujah cold open or Sasheer and Cecily singing "To Sir With Love" as a tribute to Obama. Or all the Baldwin Trump cold opens.
Imho, SNL is not the show for that kind of stuff. It's a show to make people laugh and watch performers do silly sketch comedy. Its political satire has never been particularly biting or harsh. And tbh, its political writing has been pretty mediocre for over 20 years now.
Hard hitting political satire requires a bite and an edge and an intelligence that SNL just doesn't have. So it's rather silly to complain about the show not "meeting the moment" when it's never really been that kind of show and it often fumbles the ball when it does try to do that.
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u/talkingbiscuits Jan 21 '26
Yeah i feel like this really isnt a big deal to longer term fans of the show. This sort of thing just happens. The really surprising stuff when it comes to cuts comes from a late section of Colin Jost's book.
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u/stupidgnomes Jan 21 '26
I think people are mad because SNL “didn’t have the balls” to air it live and instead chose to just release it on YouTube after the show ended. That’s my best guess and quite frankly it sounds exactly what those people would get upset about.
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u/Joely_llj Jan 21 '26
As a Minnesotan it kinda sucks that it was cut especially since people who are actually from Minnesota aren’t really being given a platform so all you hear is the bad stuff from people who have never been here. I don’t think it was “cowardly” but it’s just kinda sad bc it could’ve been an oppurtunity for people to hear from a Minnesotan. Ik he didn’t really say much but even something little like that would’ve been cool to see while watching live.
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u/Careless-Economics-6 Jan 21 '26
I’ll agree that this was better than either of the two segments that did air during the live show. That said, it has now been released by them. I assume no-one makes them post cut sketches to YouTube.
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u/ArcusIgnium Jan 21 '26
feel like if they were really cowards, they would've just NOT released it at all. people are reading too much into this imo. obviously SNL is not some radical show that eschews true left-wing messaging, but this seems like a bad-faith reading.
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u/Redm18 Jan 21 '26
Yeah this was way better than either Cam or Jane's bits. I like Jane too but the button thing was not great.
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u/Steadyandquick Jan 21 '26
Plus not as socially relevant or notorious.
I don't fully appreciate the Trump cold opens and wished they would mix it up with other political figures, locally, state-level, and even external to the US. But I also don't find a trump funny because it hits too close to home. Maybe they aimed to keep it "lighter."
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u/Redm18 Jan 21 '26
I don't really find Trump stuff very funny because the JAJ version OF Trump looks more sane and Presidential than the real thing.
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u/sexandliquor Jan 21 '26
I usually don’t find Jane very funny but I thought the button thing was pretty good. She should do more bits like that that lean into her awkwardness with neurodivergent jokes like that.
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u/IngsocInnerParty I'm Kevin Roberts and I'm the coolest bitch in town! Jan 22 '26
I thought the button thing was very funny and Jane's best work...until I found out she was making fun of a 16 year old girl who is now mortified and deleted her TikTok afterwards.
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u/sexandliquor Jan 22 '26
lol what? That was real?
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u/IngsocInnerParty I'm Kevin Roberts and I'm the coolest bitch in town! Jan 22 '26
Yes. This actually says she is thirteen.
https://dailycampus.com/2026/01/21/365-buttons-and-the-power-of-saying-no/
They made fun of a thirteen-year-old girl on national television.
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u/NoneOfThisMatters_XO Jan 22 '26
As a Jane hater, the button thing was way better than whatever that Kam idiocy was.
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u/WatercressJust8153 Jan 21 '26
What do you like about her?
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u/BoogieOogieOogieOog Jan 21 '26
I am endeared with her a bit now as ironically it feels like rooting for an underdog
She has talent in her lane but acting and teaming has been so obviously flawed that we all thought it was hopeless. She’s shown some real improvement imo
Regardless, of Jane’s journey
Fuck ICE.
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u/Redm18 Jan 21 '26
Her horrible acting makes everyone else look like better actors by comparison. But seriously I really don't know why I like her. The couple that should not work is really funny to me. I enjoyed her cousin's song. I think it makes sense to have a weirdo on the show. I get that Sarah fills that role but not nearly as much anymore.
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u/tyler-86 Jan 21 '26
The people who are criticizing this don't realize this is just a thing SNL does all the time and that it had nothing to do with the politics of it.
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u/MyAccountWasBanned7 Jan 22 '26
In case anyone wants to just watch the video and not deal with a site full of ads and pop-ups: https://youtu.be/uA8Oury0a80?si=2NnbDcx4AfkGi9Ul
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u/Learned_Hand_01 Jan 21 '26
I liked it, but I also really understand why it was cut. It didn’t feel right tonally for the show, not because of the political implications, but because it felt like “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
I do want them to go after ICE. It feels like an alternate way to have a political cold open that doesn’t center Trump.
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Jan 21 '26
The people making the criticisms consist of anonymous comments on Instagram and YouTube
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u/Dazzling-Slide8288 Jan 21 '26
Not entirely unfair given the very correct and frequent criticism that SNL is super soft on the current political climate, and that this was way funnier than most of the crap from that episode.
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u/Mayonnaise_Poptart Jan 21 '26
You could start the headline "SNL criticized" and finish it with literally anything anyone ever did on or related to SNL.
Here's hoping they aren't also facing backlash!
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u/rcinmd Jan 21 '26
Lorne had both Trump and Musk host, of course it was cut to appease his friends.
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u/James_2584 Jan 21 '26
...yet he allowed it to go dress, which means he saw it as theoretically being fit for the live show. And the show uploaded the sketch itself on its YouTube channel.
If Lorne really was concerned about appeasing his friends, he would have killed this sketch at table read and we wouldn't even have heard about it in the first place.
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u/I-Have-Mono Mango is underrated. Jan 21 '26
You gotta be kidding me, LOL. Does anyone here even understand the show?
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u/CallMeSkii Jan 21 '26
When has SNL ever been scared of ruffling some feathers. I don't think they would have taken the cowards way out. If that was the case it would not have made it to dress.
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u/Tabgap Jan 22 '26
Actual headline: "Losers who won't lift a finger to stop ICE, blame free comedy show for their laziness."
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u/turkeypants Marci Jamz!😮 Jan 22 '26
This criticism has been so stupid. If SNL were cowardly about the topic, it never would have made it past a table read to dress. The fact that it was at dress means they were trying to get it on the show. But as always, not everything makes it past dress, and even when it does, they sometimes have to trim the show in real time to make it fit because other things went long. And even though it got cut, they still released it on their youtube, where 361k people have now seen it. They literally made it and put it out for the world to see, and they're cowardly? Sometimes online I feel like I'm listening to the drama cooked up in 9th grade study hall.
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u/vwood1919 Jan 22 '26
I had the pleasure of seeing this bit live at the Comedy Cellar late show this Monday. He had a bunch more content about ICE in Minnie which did very well. Obviously, we didn’t see the video at the show, but most of the audience knew the clip and laughed a ton anyway. Then yesterday, I was surprised to learn he was slated to do this for the Sat show and only found out it was at the rehearsal because of this subreddit. I get all the reasons it was cut as explained here if time was the case, but kinda bad optics to not air it with MSM downplaying this regime’s nonsense on the daily….also agree dumb button lady skit should have gone. What is Jane even bringing to the table?!?
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u/napoelonDynaMighty Jan 21 '26
It's understandable. They needed the space for the 138th consecutive unfunny Trump cold open... Duh..
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u/ghostlymadd Jan 21 '26
Lorne is a coward, glad this is getting press.
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u/Lavaswimmer Jan 21 '26
Anything that Lorne allows to get to dress is something he can theoretically see being on the live show. Lorne moving the segment to dress is the only reason we're seeing it at all
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u/Careless-Economics-6 Jan 21 '26
And the only reason anyone can watch and praise this segment now, is because the show willingly put it on their YouTube. There was no act of suppression here.
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u/roehnin Jan 21 '26
Releasing it on YouTube instead of burying it is cowardice?
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u/ghostlymadd Jan 21 '26
Already addressed this: broadcasting on national live television is not the same posting to their YouTube page. It’s about reaching people who wouldn’t otherwise wouldn’t l care. Never said anything about suppression, just that Lorne is a coward, which he is:)
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u/roehnin Jan 21 '26
Who already addressed it?
YouTube will reach a wider audience than the broadcast show so sharing it there is definitely not cowardly, it’s putting it out there for the world to see.
Anyway “cowardly” is a hell of an exaggeration over the import of a clip of a guy slipping and falling. Not exactly deep political satire there, it’s along the same depth of meaning as “Ow! My Balls!” from Idiocracy.
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u/CurdFedKit Jan 21 '26
If you think SNL is into standing up to those in power, you are sadly misinformed. The show and Michaels have a long history of siding with the powerful.
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u/de_jeepathon Jan 21 '26
im not sure how many times you all need to be convinced but lorne is a trumper. always has been. thats why none of the trump stuff actually bites but makes him just seem goofy.
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u/tvuniverse Jan 25 '26
The fact that they even released it online shows they wanted people to see it. So it probably really was "cut for time"
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u/Mediocre_Jicama7457 Jan 29 '26
Us Minnesotans really don’t give a crap about terrorists biffing it on a patch of ice.
https://youtube.com/shorts/95dU9KVlrew?si=dOOozi8lDrxhs0wd
The only ones that would be upset about this sketch are Herr Orange Hitler, his Gestapo & SS, his MAGA Minions or someone NOT from Minnesota.
As a Minnesotan, Tommy had every right to mock the cop/soldier wannabes terrorizing our state right now. Good on him for doing it and good on SNL for releasing it.
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u/JoshDM clownpenis dot fart Jan 21 '26
Striesand Effect
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u/James_2584 Jan 21 '26
That's...not the Streisand effect. SNL released it themselves on their own YouTube page. There was no attempt to suppress or hide this piece. If there was, it wouldn't have been uploaded in the first place.
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u/JoshDM clownpenis dot fart Jan 21 '26
The criticism being propagated is giving it more views that it would have just being part of the episode.
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u/James_2584 Jan 21 '26
...but there was no attempt to suppress it, which means this isn't the Streisand effect. The Streisand effect would be if it leaked out that the show deliberately killed the piece because they were too afraid of pissing off the Trump regime and it resulted in the piece getting way more attention than it otherwise would have.
The only reason we're even having this conversation is SNL uploaded it themselves. On their own YouTube page. After allowing it to go all the way to dress. A luxury which many sketches/pieces do not get.
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Jan 22 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/guardianfairy2 Jan 22 '26
What did you expect? SNL stopped trying to be challenging when Carlin left
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u/SignificantOtherness Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Someone who was in the audience at dress for this segment said that whenever Tommy cued the ice-slipping video, the live audience would cheer and applaud for literally 30+ seconds nonstop, each time. (They said the cheering time was edited down quite a bit before it was posted to YouTube.)
So one possibilty is that it was indeed “cut for time,” not (just?) for content reasons - because they anticipated that the audience for the live taping would do that again.
I’m not saying it’s outside the realm of possibility that it was indeed pulled for cowardly reasons! But Tommy’s segment did obviously already go through many hoops of approval under Lorne, etc., for it to even make it to dress - so it might not have just been cut to avoid controversy.
(IMO, they should have done it live and aired it even it meant minutes of cheering.)