12 Other ‘Saturday Night Live’ F-Bombs That Have Graced The Show

Last night on Saturday Night Live, host Sam Rockwell joined a very exclusive club after accidentally dropping an F-bomb during his first sketch of the night. In the sketch, Rockwell as “Mr. Science” tries to inspire two young students to learn about the density of oil and water. “Just pour the oil into the water. The oil is … Josh, you can’t be f–king this stupid,” Rockwell blurted out on live television. In light of his epic slip, we’re taking a look back at 12 other times this has happened on the show, from musicians to cast members to guest appearances, dating back to 1980.

1. March 15, 1980: Paul Shaffer, then leader of David Letterman‘s studio band, intended to say “floggin” during a sketch about a Medieval band rehearsing a song, but that’s not what came out. While the audience gasped at the unexpected remark, the incident surprisingly blew over without much backlash.

2. February 21, 1981: SNL cast member Charles Rocket, who was rumored to have later been laid off because of the incident, dropped an F-bomb during a Dallas parody. Portraying a Texas oil baron while describing how it felt to be shot, Rocket stated, “Oh, man, it’s the first time I’ve ever been shot in my life. I’d like to know who the f*** did it.” Musical guest Prince also left in his uncensored line, “Fightin’ war is such a f***in’ bore” when performing his song “Partyup” on the same episode.

3. January 28, 1989: Jon Lovitz dropped an F-bomb during a sketch dubbed “Da Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts presents Da War of da Woilds” featuring guest-host Tony Danza and a number of other cast members. Everyone used the word “fonking” in the dialog as they were supposed to except for Lovitz, but the audience loved it.

CORRECTION: Per Jon Lovitz he did not drop an f-bomb on that episode of SNL:

4. February 17, 1990: While performing the song “Monkey on My Back,” Aerosmith’s singer Steven Tyler sang the uncensored lyrics, “get the f***ing monkey off my back.”

5. October 29, 1990: While performing the interlude to the song “Chocolate,” Morris Day shouted out, “Where the f*** this chicken come from? I thought I ordered ribs!” which is exactly how it’s recorded on the studio version of the Morris Day and The Time track.

6. May 14, 1994: While performing the song “Throb” from her then just-released album, Janet, Janet Jackson slipped and dropped an F-bomb.

7. November 12, 1994: Although his purposely turned his back to the audience when singing the line “I never understood. Don’t f*** with me,” Michael Stipe of R.E.M. also joined the club on this day while performing the song “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?”

8. December 10, 1994: Ad Rock of The Beastie Boys yelled the lyric, “Never quittin’, so won’t you f***in’ listen?” while performing their classic hip-hop song “Sure Shot” on the show.

9. April 12, 1997: Norm MacDonald asked “What the f*** was that?” after fumbling with his words on Weekend Update. The audience laughed at the slip-up prior to Norm laughing himself and comically declaring it, “My farewell performance.” He returned the very next week without skipping a beat.

10. May 7, 2005: System of a Down’s guitarist Daron Malakian screamed out “F*** yeah!” at the very end of the band’s performance.

11. September 26, 2009: Jenny Slate dropped an F-bomb while doing a biker chick talk-show skit with co-star Kristen Wiig during her very first night as a cast member. “You know what? You freakin’ just threw an ashtray full of butts at my head,” Slate told Wiig. “You know what? You stood up for yourself, and I f—– love you for that.”

12. February 4, 2017: During her monologue, which centered on President Donald Trump, host Kristen Stewart slipped-up and dropped an F-bomb at the very end of her tirade. “Well, I’ll never be back!” she stated after realizing she had misspoken.

While times have certainly changed since 1980 and foul language is way more tolerated on television nowadays, was Rockwell’s F-bomb still in poor taste? Should the FCC pursue a fine against the comedian for the slip? Odds are, viewers will have differing opinions on the matter but regardless, fans of the show should prepare for anything when watching a live broadcast and F-bombs have clearly become an integral part of the show’s history to date.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

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