SNL Could Face FCC Scrutiny Over Fleeting Primetime Curse

Among the many returning favorites in last night’s Martin Short-hosted Saturday Night Live came the return of another not-entirely unfamiliar phenomenon of the show’s 49 year history: the fleeting use of profanity.

What makes this case a bit unique is that it comes at a time when the show (and much of late night) finds itself in the crosshairs of an incoming president who has openly vowed retribution against his perceived enemies.

Complicating matters is the fact the show is now broadcast live coast-to-coast, which means that on the West Coast it airs at 8:30 p.m., during a time period in which the broadcast of obscenity, indecency and profanity is prohibited by federal law. (The show’s east coast broadcast falls within the FCC’s “safe harbor” hours of 10pm to 6am, where it is not illegal to air profanity.)

The moment came during Colin Jost and Michael Che’s holiday “joke swap” on Weekend Update, where the co-anchors cold-read offensive jokes written by the other live on the air. In last night’s case, Che upped the ante by writing Jost’s jokes in “black voice,” including several that referenced his co-anchor’s movie star wife, Scarlett Johannson, who was shown backstage watching on a monitor.

Reacting to one of the outrageous jokes Che had written for Jost, Johansson could be heard saying “oh sh*t” as she took a sip of water.  

Oops: Scarlett Johansson curses on SNL. (Jost was delivering jokes written for him by Che.) pic.twitter.com/P8PmcihfZv

— LateNighter (@latenightercom) December 22, 2024

Although Saturday Night Live airs completely live without a net on the East Coast, its West Coast broadcast (which, again, falls outside the FCC’s safe harbor hours) airs on a slight delay to give censors the chance to drop audio or cut to black should it be required. In this case, Johansson’s slip evaded censorship.

Lest one think it might have been a conscious decision to let that s-bomb air, when Johansson said it again a minute or so later, West Coast censors did drop audio. (Both went out live to the East Coast.)

In theory, the network could face fines from the FCC, which also has the authority to revoke the licenses of individual stations for the broadcast of indecent material.  While both would be unprecedented for the fleeting use of a profanity, the show recently raised the ire of President-Elect Trump’s pick to lead the FCC, Brendan Carr, who sounded the alarm last month after then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris made a cameo appearance the Saturday before Election Day. (The Trump campaign was later provided free commercial time on NBC equal in length to Harris’ SNL appearance.)

Might it be a little rich for a republican-controlled FCC to sanction SNL for an unintentional (and barely audible) slip of the tongue when the incoming president himself has used the same word in nationally televised rallies and, memorably, in the Cabinet room during his first administration? In a word, yes. But Trump’s comments aren’t regulated by the FCC.

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