Viewers who heard the Saturday Night Live‘s studio audience shout a curse word during “Weekend Update” a few weeks back were no doubt left wondering what Lorne Michaels thought of the moment. As it turns out, Ego Nwodim was wondering the same thing.
Speaking on a panel for Deadline’s Contenders Television showcase, the SNL performer revealed that she checked in with the SNL boss following the viral moment when the crowd shouted “sh*t” during what was supposed to be a faux call-and-response bit with her new standup comic character, Miss Eggy.
“Afterward, [Michaels] didn’t say anything,” Nwodim told Deadline. “I asked him a few days later if we got fined, and he said, ‘I don’t think so.’”
“If they haven’t fined us,” she added, “I don’t want to encourage them to do so.”
Nwodim went on to say that Michaels was “top of mind” for her as she was performing the piece, even before the surprising moment—because she spotted him watching from the studio floor, rather than in his usual spot under the bleachers.
“Right before I went to do the ‘Update’ piece, which I’d never seen this before, he was standing on the floor watching ‘Update’ with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adam Scott,” Nwodim revealed.
Nwodim also explained that while it may have seemed like she was inviting the audience to respond after she delivered the line, “These men ain’t what?” that was not the plan.
Live TV, folks. Members of the SNL audience blurted out "Shit" in an Ego Nwodim call and response bit on Weekend Update. pic.twitter.com/ZL8IlBfUW3
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) April 6, 2025
“That bit was just supposed to be that I’m acting like a comedian who’s well-known and established and has catchphrases that everyone knows, but no one does know,” Nwodim explained.
“We in no way, shape, or form expected the audience to say anything,” said Nwodim, who noted she was “incredibly surprised” and “clutching my pearls.”
“But then I understand the setup suggests that we were expecting them to say something,” she added.
While Michaels’ inconclusive answer about any FCC fallout led Nwodim to say she “can’t confirm, can’t deny” if the show was fined, any worries she might have would appear to be misplaced. Saturday Night Live airs after 10 PM on the east coast, which falls under the FCC’s “safe harbor” hours, where indecent but not obscene material is allowed. While the show also airs live in primetime on the West Coast, it does so on a 30-second delay. That allowed censors the opportunity to drop the audio of the audience’s offending line—meaning SNL really shouldn’t be at risk for a fine.
