In case you haven’t been keeping the count, its been 10 years since veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson made his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live and nearly 15 years since he’s hosted. According to Jackson, the reason for that long of a gap has to with a ban he claims has been imposed on him stemming from a skit gone slightly awry with Kenan Thompson all those years ago.
Now, however, it looks like Thompson himself is speaking out on the matter in an attempt to clear the air. According to The Hollywood Reporter, during his appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in March, Jackson explained how in 2012, he used the F-word during a live SNL sketch that aired in December 2012, and jokingly surmised that Thompson was the reason he’s now “banned” from the show. “Kenan got me banned from Saturday Night Live.” Jackson said, adding: “He didn’t cut me off soon enough, and I said the forbidden word on television. It was like, ‘Ah! He was supposed to cut me off.’”
Jackson’s comments were then brought up to Thompson during his Thursday night appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon where the SNL star attempted to straighten the record once and for all.
THR has more:
Thompson then set the scene for Fallon, describing his side of the “What Up With That?” sketch that featured Jackson playing himself in a cameo. “He dropped the F-bomb on the show, but he says I was supposed to cut him off before that,” explained Thompson, who said that the cue card only had the letter “F” and not the actual curse word. “We kinda expect the F-word out of Sam Jackson, so no harm done. Then he doubled down and said it again, and I was like, ‘Yo, my man, we got to pay for those.’”
Thompson later went on to assure Fallon that he didn’t have any authority to “ban” Jackson and that he was undoubtedly welcomed back at anytime.
“He’s been mad at me for that, so my bad, bro,” Thompson added. “I didn’t think he was gonna do it like that. Come on in whenever you want. It’s Sam Jackson—who doesn’t want Sam Jackson on the show?”