A “Weekend Update” segment went a bit awry when Saturday Night Live cast member Ego Nwodim’s call-and-response bit with the audience caused the whole crowd to swear on live television.
Nwodim, 37, appeared during the “Weekend Update” segment with Colin Jost and Michael Che on Saturday, April 5, to pitch herself as the new comedian for the White House Correspondents Association dinner, a reference to recent news that comedian Amber Ruffin had been uninvited as a performer for the dinner, which will be held on Saturday, April 26.
As part of Nwodim’s proposed material, she engaged in a call-and-response bit with the SNL audience. “Cory Booker out here with his filibuster — shoot, I’ve had my fill of busters. ’Cause these men ain’t what?” Nwodim said as she held her mic out to the crowd, who answered in enthusiastic unison, “S—!”
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Nwodim, Jost and Che all looked surprised at the crowd’s outburst, with Nwodim joking they were going to be “fined” for the slip up. “Y’all gonna have to pay for that,” Nwodim told the audience as the “Update” hosts collapsed into laughter behind her. “[SNL creator Lorne Michaels] gonna be mad at y’all.”
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According to Deadline, the swear word made it past censors in East Coast broadcasts and on Peacock, but was bleeped out in Pacific and Mountain time zones. In a rebroadcast of the segment on television, as well as a version uploaded via YouTube, the audience’s response was muted entirely.
According to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines, there are seven words you can’t say on public television, and they are: s—, piss, f—, c—, c—sucker, motherf—–, t—. This also includes variations of the seven phrases.
“Because obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, it is prohibited on cable, satellite and broadcast TV and radio,” the FCC’s guidelines read. “However, the same rules for indecency and profanity do not apply to cable, satellite TV and satellite radio because they are subscription services.”
According to the FCC, “Broadcasting obscene content is prohibited by law at all times of the day. Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”
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In terms of enforcing these rules, the FCC writes, “If an investigation is warranted and the FCC finds a station in violation of its rules, it has the authority to revoke a station license, impose a fine or issue an admonishment or warning.”
SNL’s April 5 episode featured Jack Black as the host with Elton John and Brandi Carlisle as the musical guests.
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