Kenan Thompson explains Samuel L. Jackson isn't banned from 'SNL' in Jimmy Fallon appearance

The incident was sparked by, what else, a Jackson F-bomb.
By Tim Marcin  on 
kenan thompson on fallon
Watch Next

During a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Kenan Thompson, longtime Saturday Night Live cast member, cleared the air about a somewhat strange and public beef with Samuel L. Jackson. The actor had claimed he was banned from SNL and seemingly blamed Thompson for it. But the SNL vet refuted the idea and explained what happened on Fallon.

"Hey, Sam? It's all good, bro," Thompson said, looking directly at the camera. "You're welcome any time, from what I've been hearing."

Jackson had said he believed he got the permanent boot after he accidentally dropped an F-bomb on the live show back in 2012. Jackson said Thompson was supposed to cut him off before the curse word but didn't do it in time. Thompson said on Fallon that is must've been a miscommunication. The SNL vet explained that the cue card only had "F" written on it, not the full curse word. But Jackson apparently went for the whole thing.

"He did it twice!" Thompson said. "When he did it the first time, I was processing like 'Oh, snap!' ... We kind of expect the F-word out of Sam Jackson, no harm done. Then he doubled down and said it again. And I was like, 'Yo, my man, we got to pay for those.'"

Thompson closed the story by reiterating that Jackson is welcome any time. Hopefully that clears the air.

Topics SNL

Mashable Image
Tim Marcin

Tim Marcin is a culture reporter at Mashable, where he writes about food, fitness, weird stuff on the internet, and, well, just about anything else. You can find him posting endlessly about Buffalo wings on Twitter at @timmarcin.


Latest Videos



'The Idea of You's Anne Hathaway quotes a Lana Del Ray song to inspire viewers to follow their hearts
'The Idea of You' with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine

How Taylor Swift’s 'All Too Well' ended up in ‘The Fall Guy’
Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, and Winston Duke smile against a 'The Fall Guy' backdrop

Stephen Colbert shares his honest thoughts on the student protests
A man in a suit stands on a stage. A quote at the bottom reads "It's their First Amendment right."





'Boy Kills World' cast and creator break down how the unique film was made
By Warren Shaw
'Boy Kills World'
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!