The day the public banned Andy Kaufman from ‘Saturday Night Live’ in a historic vote By Beatriz
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Andy Kaufman, an incomparable figure in comedy, profoundly marked the program “Saturday Night Live” with his peculiar style. Although he was never an official member of the cast, Kaufman made his first appearance in the inaugural episode and participated frequently over the next seven years, leaving much of the audience doubting his comedic intentions. His predilection for anti-humor meant that the joke often resided in the uncertainty of the audience, who could not distinguish whether he was purposely being bad or whether it really wasn’t funny.
Kaufman’s “Saturday Night Live” persona became even more controversial starting in 1979, when he began fighting women on stage in matches that appeared real. When calling for female fighters, he declared that his aim was to demonstrate that “women should stay at home… should be kept barefoot and pregnant”, a statement that angered some of the participants. One challenger even told Morning Union: “I think he was just joking, or says he was joking. But you don’t say something like that unless deep down you really feel that way.”
Kaufman’s controversies persisted until “Saturday Night Live” decided enough was enough. At the end of the November 13, 1982 episode, producer Dick Ebersol announced live that a Kaufman frame had been cut at the last minute. Ebersol’s justification was straightforward: “The problem is that Andy Kaufman just isn’t funny anymore.” However, this statement did not represent the actual end of Kaufman’s participation in the program; his actual “dismissal” occurred a week later.
The public voted on Saturday Night Live to decide the fate of Andy Kaufman
The week after Dick Ebersol’s statement about Andy Kaufman on TV, “Saturday Night Live” aired a live segment inviting viewers to vote on the comedian’s future. Actor Gary Kroeger explained the situation: “I truly believe Andy Kaufman is a comedic genius. If you agree with me, call 1-900-720-4101. However, if you think Andy is no longer funny, if you’ve seen enough of his fights with women, the Mighty Mouse impersonations, the fake injuries, the silly, unfunny pranks, if you’ve had enough of this loudmouth, call 1-900-720-4202.”
Although the rivalry between Kaufman and Ebersol was an act, the program actually counted the votes, and Kaufman agreed to abide by the audience’s decision. A total of 195,544 viewers voted to ban him from the program, while only 169,186 voters called for him to remain. Due to his unwavering commitment to performing, Kaufman actually stayed away from “Saturday Night Live” for the rest of his life.
Despite his departure from the show, Kaufman made one final appearance, but not as a live performer. In the weeks after his unusual “firing,” he began buying television advertising space, begging America to let him return to “Saturday Night Live.” Then-“Weekend Update” host Brad Hall aired one of these real ads on air. “That’s pretty sad,” Hall commented, but reminded viewers that Kaufman remained permanently banned. While Kaufman’s advertisements were, in fact, part of his performance art, the line between fiction and reality became uncomfortably blurred; “Saturday Night Live” would never repeat such a strange feat again.
The peculiarity of Andy Kaufman’s style still echoes on Saturday Night Live
Audiences were both amused and confused by Andy Kaufman’s “firing,” especially since both he and Dick Ebersol publicly maintained the animosity. After his departure, Kaufman told the Philadelphia Daily News, “I don’t care that all these viewers don’t want me on the show, but I want everyone to know that I had nothing to do with it. It’s not an Andy Kaufman joke. I can make my own jokes.”
Even Kaufman’s later death became a source of confusion. He passed away from lung cancer at age 35, less than two years after being “fired” from “Saturday Night Live.” Kaufman had often joked about faking his own death as one of his pranks, which naturally led to rumors that even his passing was yet another of his publicity stunts. Unfortunately, these rumors were not confirmed, but Kaufman will always be remembered as one of the greatest celebrity wrestlers of all time.
In the decades since Kaufman’s banishment from “Saturday Night Live,” no cast member has come close to his brand of deliberately nasty comedy. Perhaps the closest in spirit was Kyle Mooney, a cast member from 2013 to 2022, who played painfully awkward characters that divided audiences. However, with Mooney, it was always easy to see that his anti-comedy was intentional; Kaufman’s genius lay in his fans’ inability to understand what he was actually doing.
