The comedian looks back on “purposely” jeopardizing his position due to frustrations with creative direction in a docuseries on the sketch comedy.
Damon Wayans speaks onstage at the “Poppa’s House” Presentation Q&A during the CBS Network portion of the 2024 TCA Summer Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on July 13, 2024 in Pasadena, California.
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Damon Wayans looks back at his time on Saturday Night Live and how he ultimately left the sketch comedy series on his own terms. The commentary was featured in the Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. The comedian looks back at the advice he received from Eddie Murphy before joining the show in season 11.
“I felt like I was born to be on Saturday Night Live,” he detailed per Variety. “Eddie’s advice to me was, ‘Write your own sketches. Otherwise, they’re going to give you some Black people sh*t to do, and you ain’t gon’ like it.’”
He continued to detail frustrations with the writers as Murphy’s advice seemingly foreshadowed the downside of the gig.
“He read the sketch and was like, ‘I just don’t get the rap thing.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah but 50 million other people do,’” remarked the 64-year-old of a sketch titled The Gifted Rapper he created and pitched to then-writer Al Franken.
Damon Wayans attends CBS’ Fall Schedule Celebration at Paramount Studios on May 02, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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His gripes continued as he worked through SNL, with tensions boiling over in a sketch titled “Mr. Monopoly.” Wayans did not feel the sketch was the best however it was selected over his ideas which were cut from the episode. On live television, he chose to deliver his lines in an unrecognizable voice, off script from what was planned and rehearsed.
“I snapped. I just did not care,” the actor detailed. “I purposely did that because I wanted [Lorne Michaels] to fire me.”
“I thought it was weird, but people still laughed. And then Lorne fired him pretty much as soon as he walked off the stage,” remembered the episode’s host Griffin Dunne, who was also in the bit.
Despite his termination, Wayans was still invited back later in the season to perform, with the comedian detailing, “Lorne is a very forgiving man, and I think he just wanted to let me know he believed in me.”
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night premiered on Peacock on Thursday (Jan 16). The four-part docuseries features additional insight from Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kenan Thompson, Kyle Mooney, and more. According to its official description, it gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the American late-night comedy institution’s most iconic elements and rich history with never-before-seen clips and more.
“I’ve been obsessed with Saturday Night Live as long as I can remember. For SNL50, I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite independent filmmakers to tell some deeper stories of SNL. Taken together, these standalone episodes give a new perspective of SNL and what makes it work,” shared Morgan Neville, Executive Producer in a press statement.
Watch the trailer for SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night below.
