Chris Rock has previously been a cast member on Saturday Night Live which is known for its hilarious skits and monologues. But sometimes the show can be a bit problematic, both on-screen and off-screen. The case in point is the quite famous (or infamous) 1990 sketch with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze. The skit involved two dancers auditioning at a Chippendales nightclub in front of judges.
Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley had different body types, which was basically the center of the entire skit. While it turned out to be the breakout moment for the late comedian, a lot of people called the skit out for getting laughs at Chris Farley’s expense. Comedian Chris Rock also joined the list of the many criticizers of the skit as he found it to be simply mean rather than funny.
Chris Rock Blasts SNL Skit with Chris Farley
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Written by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby, a biography titled The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, walked us through the life of Chris Farley and his struggles with substance abuse which ultimately took his life in 1997. Seven years before this, Saturday Night Live released the above-mentioned skit. Patrick Swayze played Adrian and Farley played the other striptease performer, Barney.
As the two compete for the one open spot, Adrian ends up getting the gig despite Barney having much better moves. The reason for the loss was Barney’s “flabby” physique. While it was supposed to be “just an act”, there is no doubt to the fact that it negatively affected Farley’s life and Chris Rock seems to agree.
In the biography, Rock admitted that he never liked the sketch in the first place. He stated that there was a line that shouldn’t have been crossed and that after the jokes about his physique, the sketch should’ve turned in Farley’s favor. However, that didn’t end up happening and Rock did not find it amusing at all.
“I always hated [that sketch]. The joke of it is basically, ‘We can’t hire you because you’re fat.’ I mean, he’s a fat guy, and you’re going to ask him to dance with no shirt on. OK. That’s enough. You’re gonna get that laugh. But when he stops dancing you have to turn it in his favor. There’s no turn there. There’s no comic twist to it. It’s just f**king mean.”
Cut to a few years later, Rock also ended up joking about physical appearances as he took the center stage at the 2022 Oscars and joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. Her husband, Will Smith, then took the liberty of slapping Rock in front of the world, but we already know everything about that ordeal!
Bob Odenkirk Shares the Same Thoughts as Chris Rock
Bob Odenkirk worked as a writer for SNL and his time collided with that of Farley’s first year on the show. In the biography, Odenkirk didn’t find the need to sugarcoat his words and openly stated that he hated the sketch.
“I didn’t like the fact that the first thing [Farley] became known for was that Chippendales thing, which I hated. F**king lame, weak bulls**t. I can’t believe anyone liked it enough to put it on the show. F**k that sketch. He never should have done it.”
In his book, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, Odenkirk stated that he didn’t like that the sketch was Farley’s breakout moment. He continued that he believes the skit should never have aired and that he could see the embarrassment on Farley’s face the moment he ripped off his shirt. He stated that while the team believed the skit had a funny idea behind it, it wasn’t the skit that caused the audience to erupt in laughter, but Farley “flopping his overstuffed body.” In his opinion, the audience wasn’t laughing because of Farley but AT Farley.
While Farley passed away in 1997, his legacy still lives on. He, in a way, contributed to people finally having discussions about problematic entertainment and not being afraid of calling them out.
Source: The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts
