Back in 1997, Norm MacDonald was fired from the “Weekend Update” desk on Saturday Night Live after NBC executive, Don Ohlmeyer, allegedly pressured Lorne Michaels to let MacDonald go because, as Ohlmeyer said, Norm was “just not funny.” The reality, however, is that Ohlmeyer was friends with O.J. Simpson, and a show never seemed to go by without Macdonald making a crack at the expense of Simpson (and also crack whores). Norm MacDonald was funny. He may not have been your thing, but he was funny.
Evidence in support of how funny MacDonald was comes in the form of his monologue as host of Saturday Night Live, just a year and a half after he was fired from the show. He opened the night basically trashing SNL in one of the best, funniest and bitterest SNL monologues in its 40 year history.
It is magnificent, and if you haven’t seen it, you must. If you have seen it, it’s definitely worth revisiting.
Meanwhile, Norm MacDonald will return to Saturday Night Live next week in the show’s 40th Anniversary special.
Via Hulu
