When the script goes out the window, comedy gold follows! Join us as we count down the most hilarious moments when Saturday Night Live performers completely lost their composure on live television. From unexpected props to surprise jokes, these unscripted breaks had everyone struggling to keep it together!
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00:00This Miss Eggie, and Miss Eggie done what?
00:03That's right! How y'all know?
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most off-the-rails Saturday Night Live sketch moments that completely threw the cast members for a loop.
00:14Oh, I understand and stop. I understand and stop.
00:16If you understood, you wouldn't want it to stop.
00:18I do understand and I do want it to stop.
00:21Number 10, A Basket of Smelly Meat, Weekend Update, Smokery Farms.
00:26This Weekend Update bit from Season 44 features Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant as the cheery owners of Smokery Farms, trying to pitch their meat products to vegetarian consumers.
00:36Yeah, yeah, but you do not need to feel guilty with us, because going forward, Smokery Farms will only serve meat from animals that are individually stupid and bad.
00:48Things start off smoothly until they're handed a basket of raw samples.
00:51McKinnon and Bryant probably expected to be given fake prop meat, because judging by their reactions, they were completely taken by surprise by the rotting smell of the products.
01:01That's right!
01:03Oh! Yum! I'm getting hungry!
01:07What began as a satire on the ethical consumption of animals quickly devolves into a survival challenge, with both performers struggling to stay in character while gagging through the stench.
01:18Not wanting to suffer alone, they eventually inch the offending basket towards Colin Jost, dragging him into their nightmare.
01:25You like meat, Colin?
01:28Colin?
01:29You a big meat boy, Colin?
01:33Not closer, no.
01:35Number 9. An Adorable, Overly Excited Pug.
01:39Court Show.
01:42Ooh, yep, I knew it. Sorry to say, the jury has sentenced you to death.
01:46What?
01:47Yeah, it seems extreme, but this is dog court.
01:50You never quite know what you're going to get when you incorporate live animals into a sketch.
01:53This time, what we got was a solid 30 seconds of Cecily Strong trying and failing to keep it together.
01:59In this sketch, Strong plays a Judge Judy type character in a dog court, meeting out justice to badly behaved pups.
02:07While settling a dispute between two dog owners, Strong picks up her own dog, who immediately gets too excited and begins jumping all over her face.
02:15I should be so lucky to bring my dog to the park, but I can't because she's crippled, because I won't let her walk. I don't like how she dances.
02:26It was clear that this wasn't part of the plan. Even the most stoic cast members would have had a hard time not breaking character.
02:33And Strong, bless her, but she didn't stand a chance.
02:36Sketch artist, did you get everything?
02:42Okay, but looks nothing like me, but yeah, you're a dog, you know?
02:45Number 8. Dave Chappelle roasts Pete Davidson, Uncle Ben.
02:49I'm a real person. These are mere characters.
02:53If anything, why don't you fire Count Chocula? How come he's still working, huh?
02:59This was one of those sketches where absolutely no one made it out with a straight face.
03:03It revolves around brand executives having to fire their beloved mascots, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, after backlash over racial stereotypes.
03:11Actually, Uncle Ben, she's right.
03:14Yeah, we have to let you go too, for the same reason.
03:17But you can't do this to me. I'm Uncle Ben.
03:22Both characters then throw the Allstate guy under the bus, who in turn does the same to Count Chocula, played by Pete Davidson.
03:28But when Count Chocula insists he's not black, just made of chocolate, Dave Chappelle, in a perfectly timed, unscripted moment, calls out Davidson's features.
03:38The jab was so unexpected that Davidson spat out his fake teeth from laughing.
03:42Seriously, America.
03:46Look at Pete Davidson's lips.
03:47But he was not the only one cracking up.
03:57You could clearly see Heidi Gartner and Mikey Day also struggling to remain in character.
04:02Number 7.
04:03The Scarlett Johansson Jokes.
04:04Weekend Update.
04:05Christmas Joke Swap 2024.
04:08Granted, the whole point of the recurring joke swap bit between Colin Jost and Michael Che is to ambush each other with wildly inappropriate material.
04:16But this one was especially shocking.
04:18We give each other jokes to read.
04:20Yeah, we're making each other read jokes live on air that the other person has never seen before.
04:26But time out.
04:28Scarlett Johansson initially appeared to induct Martin Short into the five-timers club, but she was then convinced to return on camera to capture her reaction to the jokes.
04:37Her unexpected presence seemed to startle Jost, who acknowledged how uncomfortable the moment was bound to be for her.
04:43Oh no!
04:46Oh my gosh, she's so genuinely worried.
04:49Still, his reaction was nothing compared to Johansson's when he was forced to read a particularly risque joke about her.
04:56But I ain't tripping.
04:58I've been eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid.
05:02Although Johansson had a general idea of where the joke was headed, she didn't know the specifics, which made the moment genuinely jaw-dropping for both husband and wife.
05:17No. 6. Accidental Stagehand Appearance Inside the Beltway
05:21Saturday Night Live runs like a well-oiled machine, with hundreds of parts moving in sync to deliver a flawless show.
05:28But of course, even the best machines have their hiccups.
05:31I mean, this isn't his first offense, okay?
05:35I mean, remember what happened five months ago. Let's take a look.
05:39We got one of such hiccups during this political sketch that required multiple lightning-fast costume changes.
05:45At one point, a member of the show's wardrobe department accidentally made a cameo by strolling into the frame too early,
05:51completely catching Aidy Bryant unawares.
05:54It's revolting. It feels like a real turning point in the Trump candidacy.
05:59Mm-hmm.
06:00No.
06:01He gonna win.
06:03Although they eventually managed to pull off the costume change, the mishap sent Bryant into a fit of laughter.
06:09And once that laugh genie was out of the bottle, there was no putting it back.
06:13Bryant was unable to regain her composure until the sketch ended.
06:17I believe that the arc of the moral universe is wrong, but it bends towards justice.
06:26Hear, hear.
06:27Number 5. Mikey Day's Prosthetic Makeup, Beavis and Butthead.
06:31It took six seasons, but we finally saw the typically stone-faced Heidi Gardner break.
06:36And all it took was some unhinged prosthetic makeup.
06:39Uh, sir...
06:40Sir, do you mind moving?
06:46I'm sorry?
06:47Me? You're talking about me?
06:50I have no idea what's going on. I'm sorry.
06:52In this sketch, Gardner plays a journalist moderating a town hall about AI,
06:57which gets disrupted by two audience members with an uncanny resemblance to Beavis and Butthead.
07:02About halfway through, Gardner turns around to address the Butthead character played by Mikey Day,
07:07only to completely lose it.
07:09Sir!
07:09Sir!
07:09Sir!
07:10Sir!
07:10Sir!
07:11Sir!
07:11Sir!
07:11Sir!
07:12Sir!
07:12Sir!
07:13Sir!
07:13Sir!
07:13Sir!
07:14Sir!
07:15Sir!
07:15Sir!
07:17Though she had already seen him during dress rehearsals, the full prosthetic makeup was supposedly
07:22reserved for the live show.
07:23So, when Gardner turned around, she was completely unprepared for what awaited her.
07:28Fortunately, that surprise worked in the sketch's favor, as her prolonged character break made
07:33it all the more hilarious.
07:34Yes!
07:35I am so sorry, I, I'm confused, I'm, I'm just here to learn about AI, but, yeah.
07:44Number four, audience call and response, weekend update, Ego Wodum on the White House Correspondents
07:50Dinner.
07:51SNL cast members are well aware of the consequences of cursing on air, but it appears the same
07:57cannot be said for the audience.
07:59How we doin' White House?
08:01What's up?
08:02Woo!
08:03Hey!
08:04Hey, chef, go ahead and hang that apron up, bruh, cause I'm doin' the roastin' tonight!
08:09Ha ha!
08:10That became clear during this weekend update segment featuring Ego Wodum pitching herself
08:14as the comedian for the White House Correspondents Dinner.
08:17Wodum debuted her stand-up persona, Miss Eggie, and decided to dabble in a little crowd work.
08:23And after referencing Cory Booker's record-breaking Senate speech, she turned the mic to the audience,
08:28only to be hit with a swear word.
08:29I had my fill of busters!
08:33Cause these men ain't what?
08:39You're gonna get fired for that!
08:41You could see the stunned reactions on the faces of Wodum, Colin Jost, and Michael Che.
08:46Someone is definitely getting in trouble with Lorne Michaels.
08:49We just hope it won't be Miss Eggie, because we need her back.
08:52Let me go, what?
08:54Play!
08:55There it is!
08:56There you go, Wodum, everyone!
08:58Let's go, help!
09:04Throughout his time on SNL, Chris Farley proved he was more than willing to push his body to
09:09the limit for the sake of a laugh.
09:11First off, I am 35 years old, I am divorced, and I live in a van down by the river!
09:20In his debut as the iconic motivational speaker Matt Foley, Farley gave a masterclass in physical
09:27comedy, making his fellow castmates break repeatedly, even though they had already seen
09:32the routine during rehearsals.
09:33But nothing prepared them for the unscripted moment when Farley launched himself chest-first
09:38into the coffee table.
09:40Old Matt's gonna be your shadow!
09:41Here's you, here's Matt, there's you, there—
09:45None of the other performers knew this was coming, and you could probably guess that from
09:52the genuine horror on their faces.
09:55While Farley popped back up and forged ahead like nothing happened, the others needed a
09:59moment to fully recover from the comedic chaos they had just witnessed.
10:02Is the back door locked?
10:03Yes.
10:04We love you, Dad.
10:05I love you, too.
10:06Okay.
10:07Number 2.
10:08A Last-Minute Dracula Joke
10:10Weekend Update, Stefan on Halloween's Hottest Tips
10:13Yes, if you need to get a spot checked out, I know just the place for you.
10:18New York's hottest club is Jimmy Bones.
10:21Few characters on SNL are as memorable as Stefan, the eccentric city correspondent with
10:28bizarre recommendations for New York City parties and events played by Bill Hader.
10:32The character was created by both Hader and John Mulaney, who would often slip in last-minute
10:37jokes to make Hader crack on air.
10:39Located in an abandoned white fish factory in Little Israel, this place is gonna have everything.
10:48Perhaps the most notable instance of this came in this Season 38 episode, where Stefan is
10:54brought on to share tips for Halloween events.
10:56Hader manages to hold it together for the most part, until he's hit with another surprise
11:01joke, this time about Dracula.
11:03Well, they have a Jewish Dracula.
11:04Oh.
11:05What's his name?
11:06Sidney Applebaum.
11:07Oh, okay.
11:08As this was his first time reading it, Hader lost it completely.
11:17Laughing so hard, he pretty much halted the show for a minute.
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11:35Number 1.
11:38Will Ferrell's Briefs.
11:39Short shorts for the USA.
11:41Hey, sorry I'm late gang.
11:42Uh, traffic on the Jensen overchange is just nuts.
11:47So, uh, I apologize.
11:50It was barely a month after 9-11 that SNL decided to poke fun at the surge of patriotism
11:55following the attacks.
11:57The resulting sketch featured Will Ferrell as an office worker who defies the dress code
12:01and shows up wearing a tight USA crop top and a pair of alarmingly short shorts.
12:05The shorts.
12:06The shirt.
12:07I thought this week we were wearing, you know, little items to show our patriotism.
12:12Judging by the reactions of his castmates, you'd think that they were seeing the costume
12:16for the first time.
12:17And they were.
12:18It turns out that during rehearsals, Ferrell had worn a more modest version.
12:22But for the live show, he cut out about half of it without the rest of the cast knowing.
12:27What remained on his body left little to the imagination.
12:30There was no way anyone there could have kept it together.
12:33What?
12:34What?
12:35What?
12:36What?
12:37Alright, Matthew.
12:38That's enough.
12:39This is just too distracting.
12:40Look at that.
12:42Which of these SNL gags did you see coming from a mile away?
12:45Let us know in the comments below.
12:47people in the comments below.
13:01Any comments below...