"Saturday Night Live" appropriately ripped Senate candidate Roy Moore Saturday, but curiously eschewed the excoriation of Louis C.K.
NBC's weekly variety show dedicated a full skit to the Moore allegations, mocking Alabama's penchant for electing unqualified and grotesque candidates. But when it came to Louis, who had also been accused of sexual improprieties, "SNL" only mentioned his name once throughout the entire show.
A four-time host of "SNL," Louis was accused last week of masturbating in front of four women. In a disingenuous apology, the acclaimed comedian insisted that he asked the women first before "show[ing]" his penis to them.
It was a bombshell story ripe for scorn and ridicule. "SNL" cast member Beck Bennet, however, failed to deliver the one joke that explicitly mentioned Louis, stumbling over his words before he even got to the comedian's name.
“Even I heard about Louis C.K. and I’m not allowed to watch TV. I’m only allowed to listen to it,” Bennett said in his character of Vice President Mike Pence.
Comedian Tiffany Haddish hosted the show Saturday and did allude to the allegations in her opening monologue.
“Listen, fellas, listen. If you got your thing-thing out and she’s got all her clothes on, you’re wrong. You’re in the wrong,” Haddish said.
The "Weekend Update" crew did briefly reference Louis as well, but did so without using his name. A picture of Louis, along with other public figures accused of sexual harassment, appeared in a graphic next to co-anchor Colin Jost, who called them "sex monsters." Jost did point out that "the guy who joked about masturbating wasn't joking about masturbating."
"Saturday Night Live" faced criticism in October for initially side-stepping the Harvey Weinstein scandal the week the allegations first surfaced. "SNL" did later deride the Hollywood producer, lampooning a panel about sexual harassment in Hollywood.
NBC has not had the greatest record in the wake of a flurry of sexual abuse charges. The network's news division refused to publish Ronan Farrow's reporting on the Weinstein allegations, forcing him to turn to New Yorker magazine, which provided him a platform to out Weinstein as a serial abuser.
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