How an SNL head writer revealed the show's failings in a single NBA Finals-Samantha Bee joke tweet

Paste Magazine

Bryan Tucker -- one of four SNL head writers along with Rob Klein, Colin Jost and Michael Che -- decided to mash up Bee's C-word controversy and Cleveland Cavaliers player JR Smith's mistake in a single tweet Thursday night. Tucker later deleted the tweet, but Seth Simons has a screenshot of it. "I am highlighting this tweet not to shame Tucker, but because I think it neatly crystallizes one of the biggest weaknesses of SNL under his leadership," says Simon. "So much of the show’s approach to satire, especially in the cold open, is just to mention one or two things that happened during the previous week without really saying anything about them. These naked references will get a laugh of recognition—yes, they did happen, I remember that!—which SNL often compounds by tossing in a celebrity cameo as well. Ahh, it’s that actor I recognize playing that other famous person who did that thing this week! Lol!"