- 19 hours ago
Live TV is full of surprises, and even the biggest celebrities aren’t immune to the occasional slip-up on “Saturday Night Live.” From music legends like Lady Gaga and Prince to comedy icons like Dave Chappelle and Eddie Murphy, we’re diving into unforgettable moments when profanities flew during the chaos of a live broadcast. Watch as seasoned pros keep cool despite these unexpected F-bombs and S-words.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the most notable moments when SNL guests and cast members let
00:05a curse word slip live on TV.
00:08He said I do not like green eggs in hand.
00:12Well, he may like them, he will see, he may like them in a tree.
00:18Number 20, Lady Gaga.
00:20Live performance is a beast, and even Mother Monster isn't immune to its chaos.
00:24During her season 50 performance of Killa, Lady Gaga accidentally sang an uncensored S-bomb during one of the song's
00:31opening lines.
00:42The profanity hit the East Coast feed completely raw.
00:45Network censors simply didn't catch it in time as it echoed through the halls of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
00:50By the time the West Coast delayed broadcast rolled around, the damage was contained.
00:55That specific moment had its audio quietly muted or dropped entirely.
01:08The YouTube and Peacock versions also removed the vocal.
01:12Gaga kept performing like the seasoned showwoman she is, with not even a flicker of a stumble.
01:33I want you to go to the store for me.
01:38Come on, what?
01:39Shut up, I need a package of knee highs, I'm on my last pair.
01:44What color?
01:45Sun tan.
01:48And I want the change!
01:49During the very first appearance of Sherry Oteri's beloved character Rita Delvecchio in the Rita and her son sketch,
01:55her character's housecoat got tangled in the prop mid-performance.
01:58So deep in the character's abrasive, Groundlings-inspired monologue,
02:02Oteri instinctively let slip an unscripted S-bomb,
02:05and then just kept going without so much as a flinch.
02:08Yeah, did you hear what happened to the DeMarcos?
02:11Look at this.
02:13Okay.
02:14Alright.
02:16Yeah, I know, they were separated.
02:18Yeah.
02:19The composure was genuinely impressive.
02:21She later recalled completely forgetting she was on live network television in that moment.
02:25The show's backstage tradition made sure she paid for it, too.
02:29Literally, as she was forced to drop a dollar into a stage tip jar as a penalty.
02:33Go get the knee-highs.
02:35Before my show comes on, you heard me.
02:36Go get the knee-highs!
02:38Get your own damn knee-highs.
02:39Did you swear, you bastard?
02:43Live TV can be unpredictable, but at the Ms. Mojo 24-7 livestream, you always know what you're getting.
02:49Non-stop entertainment.
02:50Scan the QR code on your screen to join.
02:53But don't listen to me, because I'm from Mars.
02:55Yeah, I don't know anything.
02:56Look, see?
02:57I'm green from head to toe.
02:58And look, I got an antenna growing out my ass.
03:00Number 18.
03:01Michael Stipe.
03:02Subversion was always baked into the DNA of rock band R.E.M.
03:06By 1994, the band had ascended to alt-rock royalty,
03:10and their SNL appearance to perform What's the Frequency, Kenneth, was no accident of timing.
03:15I never destroyed the frequency.
03:25Michael Stipe had every intention of delivering the song's profanity-laced lyrics,
03:29but he did so in a way that was quite cheeky.
03:32Stipe turned his back to the camera at precisely those moments, shielding his mouth from view.
03:43Censors couldn't lip-read what they couldn't see,
03:45and audiences were left genuinely baffled about what just happened.
03:49Lauren Michaels was reportedly left deciphering the whole thing afterward.
03:52Call it what it was, a masterclass in rebellion disguised as a rock performance.
04:02Number 17.
04:04Sabrina Carpenter.
04:05Not so fast, Sabrina Carpenter.
04:08You are under arrest.
04:10For being hot?
04:11No.
04:12For falsely impersonating an officer 200 times at your concerts.
04:17And you're arresting innocent, hot people.
04:20Sabrina Carpenter pulled double duty as host and musical guest in October 2025,
04:25and her performance of Nobody's Son created a little headache for network censors.
04:29During the performance, Carpenter sang the explicitly worded lyric,
04:33He sure effed me up.
04:34And she sang it twice, just to make sure everyone caught it.
04:37That boy is corrupt.
04:41You're racing to love me, baby.
04:44You sure effed me up.
04:46Yes, I'm talking about your baby.
04:49The response from NBC's broadcast teams was split depending on where you were watching.
04:54East Coast viewers heard it.
04:56The West Coast delayed broadcast muted both instances.
04:59It was a sharp reminder that live television respects no one's comfort zone.
05:03The moment added fuel to her already buzzing cultural moment,
05:06confirming that Carpenter has absolutely no interest in playing it safe.
05:10You sure effed me up.
05:13Yes, I'm talking about your baby.
05:16Number 16.
05:17Dave Chappelle.
05:18When Dave Chappelle returned to SNL to host the post-2016 election episode,
05:22the nation was already on edge,
05:24and he didn't do much to ease the tension.
05:27We've actually elected an internet troll as our president.
05:35And the whites were furious.
05:37We've never seen anything like it.
05:38I haven't seen white people with this man since O.J. birth.
05:41There's a split screen with white people on both sides.
05:43Ah!
05:45Chappelle leaned deliberately into the kind of provocative language
05:48that has long been part of his stand-up.
05:50He deployed multiple profanities throughout his opening monologue
05:53with the kind of intentionality that made it clear this was a choice, not a slip.
05:58You can't even go to the goddamn zoo
06:00without seeing a shooting nowadays.
06:02They shot a gorilla
06:05in my local zoo.
06:07And the Cincinnati police said
06:08shooting that gorilla
06:10was the toughest decision this department ever had to make.
06:14I said,
06:17several local NBC affiliates
06:20like WRAL and Raleigh
06:21used their own delay
06:22to silence words prohibited under station policy,
06:25cutting audio nine times
06:27during Chappelle's monologue and sketches.
06:29It became one of the most debated SNL monologues
06:32in recent memory.
06:33Roosevelt was president.
06:34He had a black guy over
06:35and got so much flack from the media
06:37that he literally said,
06:38I will never have a
06:39in this house again.
06:43I thought about that
06:44and I looked at that room
06:45and I saw all those black faces in Bradley.
06:48Number 15,
06:49Ariana Grande.
06:50Even pop's most meticulous performers
06:52have their moments.
06:53I think I'm in a place
06:55where I'm ready
06:56to be caught in a real adult scandal.
07:00A real scandal, you know?
07:02Something to take my career to the next level.
07:05During her SNL hosting debut in 2016,
07:08Ariana Grande stumbled over a line
07:09mid-performance
07:10during her opening musical number.
07:12Her instinctive, unfiltered reaction?
07:14A clearly audible S-bomb
07:16delivered before she composed herself
07:17and carried on.
07:18I puke in the pool
07:20or pimp slap it down
07:23so what will my scandal be?
07:28The original East Coast live broadcast
07:30captured it without a mute.
07:32Later airings and replays
07:33had that particular moment
07:34quietly scrubbed from the audio.
07:36It was endearingly human
07:38for someone who projects
07:39such polished precision
07:40and it made fans love her
07:42even more for it.
07:43Credit where it's due though,
07:44she recovered without skipping a beat,
07:46which might actually be more impressive
07:48than not slipping at all.
07:50I could slip a nip at the Super Bowl
07:53and ruin my career
07:56overnight.
07:58Number 14.
07:59Eddie Murphy
08:01What went wrong?
08:02I think I just made a lot of bad choices.
08:05I don't mean with the cake,
08:06I mean like in general in my life,
08:08I just made lots of bad choices in my life.
08:10And why is it brown, Mitch?
08:12I don't know.
08:13Why is anything brown?
08:14Eddie Murphy's long-awaited return
08:16to SNL in December 2019
08:18included familiar characters,
08:20big laughs,
08:21and one tiny moment
08:22of genuine embarrassment.
08:23In the holiday baking championship sketch,
08:26contestants presented
08:27increasingly cursed creations,
08:29and Murphy's character
08:30unveiled a Sonic the Hedgehog cake
08:32with human teeth
08:33and a demonic voice.
08:34Should we destroy it?
08:36No, please don't hurt me.
08:38I love you.
08:39Wait, what's that voice?
08:41He's talking in your grandmama's voice
08:42to trick you and drag you to hell.
08:46That's very disturbing,
08:47but at least you took risks.
08:49Right at the end of the sketch,
08:51the cake tried to escape,
08:52prompting him to yell at it
08:54and accidentally drop an S-bomb.
08:56Murphy immediately covered his mouth,
08:58realizing the word had slipped out
08:59on live television.
09:01Come back here, you cow.
09:02We can still win this.
09:03The curse was brief enough
09:04to miss if you blinked,
09:06but his reflexive reaction
09:07gave it away.
09:08After decades in comedy,
09:10even Eddie Murphy
09:11still has slip-ups.
09:12I will be back
09:14with the justice decision
09:15right after this.
09:17Number 13,
09:18Shane Gillis.
09:19A Dr. Seuss-inspired sketch
09:21was probably not
09:22where viewers expected an F-bomb,
09:24but Shane Gillis managed it
09:25during his third hosting gig
09:26in October 2026.
09:29What's the endgame with this?
09:30Why do you want him
09:31to eat that so bad?
09:32Is this some kind of money thing?
09:34Because my dad's older,
09:35he gets confused sometimes,
09:36so I don't appreciate you
09:38being in his house
09:38and asking him a million questions.
09:40I'm trying to get him
09:41to eat rotten food.
09:41He doesn't like it.
09:42Just take the L.
09:43In Green Eggs and Ham,
09:45he played an overprotective son
09:46defending his father,
09:47played by Mikey Day,
09:49from Sam I.M.'s persistent attempts
09:50to get him to try the dish.
09:52Frustrated,
09:53Gillis began chiding
09:54the Andrew Dismukes character,
09:55but then accidentally
09:57dropped an F-bomb.
09:58Bro, it's a non-starter.
09:59He told me,
10:00he said he doesn't...
10:01Jeez, like him!
10:03Oh, bro!
10:07The audience erupted
10:08and Gillis briefly broke character.
10:10They later worked the moment
10:12into the sketch,
10:12scolding Gillis' character
10:14for saying a bad word.
10:16Zachary's the one who is going,
10:17I want you out of this house.
10:20You're a loser,
10:21and you said a bad word!
10:25Yes, I do.
10:27Now,
10:28get out of me!
10:30Gillis apologized again
10:31during the closing segment.
10:33Even a Dr. Seuss parody
10:34couldn't keep this one
10:35family-friendly.
10:37Sorry about earlier.
10:38Thank you guys very much.
10:40Have a good time.
10:41Number 12,
10:43The Beastie Boys.
10:44The Beastie Boys
10:44brought their restless
10:45shout-along energy
10:46to SNL in December 1994,
10:49performing Shoreshot
10:50during their first appearance
10:51as the show's musical guests.
11:02The track's rapid-fire delivery
11:04made it an easy place
11:06for explicit language
11:07to slip past the broadcast team,
11:08and Adam Ad-Rock Horowitz
11:10shouted a version of the lyric
11:11containing the F-word.
11:22The slip-up reportedly earned the group
11:24a stern reprimand
11:25from the network.
11:26But clearly,
11:27Lorne Michaels and NBC
11:28didn't hold a permanent grudge.
11:30The Beastie Boys
11:31remained welcome on the show,
11:32and the general understanding
11:33seemed to be that
11:34with a group performing
11:35at that kind of feverish pitch,
11:37certain things were simply
11:38an occupational hazard.
11:40Why not get in the corner?
11:42Well, man, I wonder
11:43so I'm gonna
11:44take a piece off the front.
11:46Why not?
11:46I'm not thinking
11:47I'm gonna change
11:48you without this
11:49and bring him on the whip.
11:51Number 11,
11:52Darren Malakian.
12:02NBC's new system
12:03of a down was a risk.
12:04The band's anti-war anthem
12:06BYOB featured the F-word
12:08multiple times throughout,
12:09and when the group refused
12:10to alter a single lyric
12:11for their May 2005 performance,
12:13the network implemented
12:14a five-second broadcast delay,
12:16specifically to mute
12:17those profanities in real time.
12:32The plan worked.
12:33Every scripted F-bomb
12:35was caught.
12:35What nobody planned for
12:37was guitarist Darren Malakian,
12:39who mid-guitar slide
12:40threw in a completely
12:41spontaneous F-bomb
12:42right before the outro.
12:43Why do they always
12:44sit in the corner?
12:45Why do they always
12:46sit in the corner?
12:46Why do they always
12:47sit in the corner?
12:49The control room
12:51had no warning,
12:52the audio technician
12:53had no time,
12:54and millions of
12:55East Coast viewers
12:56heard the word
12:56crystal clear.
13:07Number 10,
13:08Samuel L. Jackson.
13:09I want to thank my guest,
13:11the incredible
13:11Samuel L. Jackson.
13:13Man,
13:13f***,
13:13ay!
13:15Did an F-bomb
13:16slip during this sketch,
13:17or did viewers
13:18make it up?
13:18You see,
13:19many in the audience
13:20at home
13:20and in the SNL studio
13:21swore they heard
13:23Samuel L. Jackson
13:24blurt out his cuss word
13:25during Kenan Thompson's
13:26hilarious
13:27What up with that sketch,
13:28but there's no
13:29definitive proof.
13:30Thompson even rolled
13:31with the apparent mistake,
13:32laughing that those
13:33kind of words
13:34cost money.
13:34Come on now!
13:36That cost money!
13:37Jackson claimed
13:38after the show
13:39that he stopped short
13:40of dropping the full F-bomb,
13:41and that Kenan
13:42was supposed to
13:43interrupt him
13:44before the final K.
13:45We'll let you judge
13:46for yourself
13:47who's right.
13:48Did you say that?
13:49Yes, I did.
13:50Number 9,
13:50Steven Tyler.
13:52Once again,
13:53Aerosmith!
13:54Aerosmith was on SNL
13:55back in 1990
13:56and made it a memorable
13:58episode by dropping in
13:59on Mike Myers
14:00and Dana Carvey
14:01in a Wayne's World sketch
14:02for a bit of fun.
14:03Welcome to Wayne's World,
14:05almighty ones!
14:06Not everyone was laughing
14:07later on
14:08when the band
14:08took to the stage
14:09as the episode's
14:10musical guest, however,
14:11as they performed
14:12Monkey on My Back
14:13from the album
14:14Pump.
14:15Frontman Steven Tyler
14:16couldn't be bothered
14:17to censor himself
14:17on this night
14:18and chose to blurt out
14:20one of the song's lines.
14:26Number 8,
14:27Morris Day.
14:32Steven Tyler
14:33and Aerosmith
14:34may have been
14:35one of the first
14:35ever musical culprits
14:37to drop an F-bomb,
14:38but they certainly
14:38were not the last.
14:40Morris Day and The Time
14:41were a funky R&B group,
14:43best known for their
14:43appearance in
14:44Princess film
14:45Purple Rain.
14:46The band's biggest hit
14:47was Jungle Love,
14:48but The Time also
14:49played the song
14:50Chocolate on SNL,
14:51and it was during
14:52this second performance
14:53when they got into
14:54a bit of trouble.
15:00Morris Day and co.
15:02started out the song
15:02just fine,
15:03but the singer
15:04dropped his F-bomb
15:05when the song
15:05was almost finished.
15:07Where the f***
15:07did this chicken come from?
15:08I thought I ordered ribs.
15:09Number 7,
15:10Prince.
15:11Party up!
15:12One, two, three!
15:13Speaking of Prince,
15:14the Purple One
15:15himself dropped
15:16an F-bomb of his own
15:17nearly 10 years
15:18before Morris Day
15:19and The Time
15:19during a performance
15:21of his song
15:21Party Up.
15:22Prince,
15:23never one to censor himself,
15:24sang the uncut line,
15:26quote,
15:27Fake rules
15:30Now, it makes sense
15:31that casual swearing
15:32probably didn't go over
15:34that well with TV audiences
15:35back in 1981,
15:36but incredibly enough,
15:38Prince's performance
15:38wasn't even the last time
15:40an F-bomb would be dropped
15:41on that episode,
15:42never mind the series run.
15:44We don't wanna fight no more!
15:48Number 6,
15:49Charles Rocket.
15:50Hi, Charles Rocket
15:51in New York City.
15:52Case in point,
15:53Charles Rocket.
15:54Rocket was a member
15:55of the SNL cast
15:56during the series'
15:56disastrous 1980-1981 season,
15:59primarily as host
16:00for the Weekend Update segment.
16:02Rocket was in the middle
16:03of a Who Shot J.R. parody
16:04of Dallas during that season
16:06and was in character
16:07during this episode's
16:08closing moments.
16:09It was here
16:10where he remarked,
16:12Now, we're not sure
16:13what possessed Rocket
16:14to drop such a casual
16:15F-bomb right before
16:16the closing credits,
16:17but we do know
16:18that his stay at the show
16:19did not last much longer,
16:21as he was fired
16:22midway through the season.
16:28Number 5,
16:29Sam Rockwell.
16:30Thank you!
16:32Oh my goodness!
16:33Thank you very much!
16:34Okay, we're not sure
16:35if we can blame Sam Rockwell
16:37for this 2018 F-bomb,
16:38as his character
16:39on this parody
16:40of 90s science programs
16:41was supposed to be frustrated.
16:43Rockwell's Mr. Science
16:44was gradually losing
16:46his patience
16:46with a pair of useless
16:47junior scientists
16:48who just don't seem
16:50to have a clue.
16:51The sketch appeared
16:51to be going smoothly
16:52until Rockwell slipped up
16:54with an F-bomb.
16:56You can't be this stupid!
16:58To their credit,
17:00both Sam and SNL players
17:01Mikey Day and Cecily Strong
17:03kept their faces straight
17:04and carried on,
17:05which just goes to show
17:06how professional
17:07all three were
17:08during what could have been
17:09a live disaster.
17:11It's aren't stupid.
17:12Just say what you see, okay?
17:14Say what you see.
17:15What you see?
17:16Come on!
17:17Are you kidding me?
17:18Number 4,
17:19Norm MacDonald.
17:20Last weekend in Washington,
17:21a new museum
17:22dedicated to broadcast jerk.
17:24Bah!
17:27SNL cast member
17:28Norm MacDonald
17:28got into the F-word business
17:30in 1997
17:31when he misread his lines
17:32from a teleprompter
17:33while hosting
17:34Weekend Update.
17:35MacDonald muttered,
17:36quote,
17:37what the fuck was that
17:38after the flub,
17:39which caused the audience
17:40to roar with laughter.
17:42My farewell performance.
17:44The comedian took the gaffe
17:45in stride, however,
17:46remarking that the segment
17:47was his, quote,
17:49farewell performance,
17:50before telling the SNL crowd
17:51that maybe he'd see them
17:53next week.
17:54Thankfully,
17:55the slip-up didn't cost Norm
17:56his job,
17:57and he went on
17:57to continue killing it
17:59on SNL.
18:00Burt Reynolds.
18:01What is Popeye?
18:04No.
18:05Number 3,
18:06Jenny Slate.
18:07This is my show.
18:08Either love it
18:09or change the frickin' channel.
18:10This entry might win
18:11the Best Reaction Award
18:13for comedian Jenny Slate,
18:14whose unintentional F-bomb
18:16was probably the most
18:17memorable aspect
18:18of her SNL tenure
18:19during the 2009-2010 season.
18:21Slate was taking part
18:22in a sketch
18:23alongside Kristen Wiig
18:24when,
18:25out of nowhere,
18:26a line that should have read,
18:27quote,
18:28and I love you for that,
18:29was delivered as,
18:30quote,
18:31You frickin' just threw
18:32an ashtray full of butts
18:33at my head.
18:33You know what?
18:34You stood up for yourself,
18:35and I f-in' love you for that.
18:37Slate immediately realized
18:39her error,
18:39and her mortified reaction
18:41is just priceless.
18:42What's worse,
18:43this was on Slate's
18:44very first episode
18:45as a featured player.
18:47Whoopsie.
18:48As much as it was important
18:49for me to be like,
18:50well, you know,
18:51get your ass back up,
18:52you know,
18:53don't,
18:53don't stop,
18:54I never would have.
18:55Number 2,
18:56Paul Schaefer.
18:57You can't floggin' play
18:59on floggin' me,
19:02we go all the way back
19:03to 1980
19:04for our penultimate pick,
19:06and a person
19:06who you might not expect
19:07to accidentally drop
19:09an F-bomb on live TV.
19:10Please welcome back
19:11to this theater,
19:12the great Paul Schaefer.
19:14Yep,
19:14it was musical legend
19:15and future David Letterman
19:17bandleader,
19:17Paul Schaefer,
19:18starring in a sketch
19:19about medieval torture.
19:20So far,
19:21so good, right?
19:22Well,
19:22that was until Schaefer
19:23mistakenly said,
19:24quote,
19:24f***ing instead of floggin',
19:26surprising everyone
19:27on stage
19:28and in the audience.
19:29But it didn't hurt
19:30Schaefer that much
19:31in the long run,
19:32so no harm,
19:33no foul.
19:33Just think you fly better,
19:35but you don't fly better.
19:38It froze that whole
19:38f***ing time in all.
19:41Number 1,
19:42Kristen Stewart.
19:43Ladies and gentlemen,
19:45Kristen Stewart!
19:46We can't blame Kristen Stewart
19:48for being just a little bit
19:49excited at the prospect
19:50of hosting SNL.
19:51After all,
19:52it's an honor
19:52few dream will ever
19:54come their way.
19:54Maybe that explains
19:55why Stewart and her excitement
19:57proclaimed the hosting gig
19:58to be, quote,
19:59the coolest f***ing thing ever
20:01during her opening monologue.
20:03We've got a great show
20:04and I totally care
20:05that I'm here
20:06because it's the coolest
20:06f***ing thing ever.
20:07Oh!
20:09Honestly, though,
20:10Stewart,
20:11Aidy Bryant,
20:11and Kate McKinnon
20:12laughed it off like pros.
20:13So this one rises to the top
20:15as our favorite
20:16F-bomb snafu
20:17just because of the
20:18aw shucks
20:19good-natured feeling
20:20of it all.
20:20Unless your car is also here
20:22and I'll never come back.
20:25Which of these
20:26unfiltered moments
20:27caught you genuinely
20:28by surprise?
20:29Let us know in the comments.