Why Lorne Michaels' Tribute To Norm Macdonald Has Everyone Seeing Red
The 73rd Annual Emmy Awards aired on September 19, and the show has had many iconic moments. While "The Crown" and "Ted Lasso" led the nominations for the evening, there were numerous other iconic moments throughout the broadcast. One of them came during the acceptance speeches for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. The writing award went to "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and "Saturday Night Live" won Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. While both John Oliver and Lorne Michaels (who spoke for "Last Week Tonight" and "SNL," respectively) mentioned the traditional people and institutions in their acceptance speeches, they also took the time to acknowledge someone special to their specific field of comedy.
As fans of comedy and "Saturday Night Live" might know, Norm Macdonald, a member of the variety show's cast in the early-to-mid '90s, per his IMDb, died on September 14 at just 61 years old. The Canadian comedian brought a unique spin to the show, portraying numerous figures from the political and entertainment world. But he made his name as the anchor for the Weekend Update segment, gaining notoriety for his "deadpan style," a marked departure from "the slapstick approach of Chevy Chase and toward the more barbed political approach of his successor Colin Quinn," Deadline reported. Macdonald's contributions to the comedic world were acknowledged during the Emmy's broadcast, though Michaels' statement caused some fans to see red. Keep scrolling to find out why.
Fans questioned Lorne Michaels' sincerity
"Saturday Night Live" won the award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series at the 73rd Annual Emmy Awards and Executive Producer Lorne Michaels took to the podium for the acceptance speech. At the end of his speech, he made sure to thank Norm Macdonald for his contribution to the show, stating the" Weekend Update" segment was one of the biggest reasons "Saturday Night Live" won. However, fans of Macdonald took offense at the comment, as the comedian was reportedly fired from the show. Viewers took to Twitter to accuse Michaels of acting insincerely. "Issa Rae mouthing 'didn't he fire him?' when Lorne Michaels brought up Norm Macdonald lmaoooooooo," one Twitter user wrote. "Lorne Michaels on Norm Macdonald: One of the best we ever had. He left out 'that I then let get fired because an NBC executive was friends with OJ," another penned.
Others talked about how Michaels supposedly fired Macdonald. "And Norm was so great you let the network fire him, you hypocritical little weasel, Lorne Michaels," one wrote. "So SNL Lorne Michaels pays tribute to NormMcDonald [sic] as one of the best comedians. Thanks Lorne since you told Norm he wasn't funny and fired him," a second tweeted. "Lorne Michaels acknowledged Norm's contribution to SNL. Norm probably just chuckled knowing the guy who fired you had to admit you were an asset to the company," a third penned.
Of course, it's important to point out that, during a 1998 interview, Macdonald denied Michaels fired him. Reportedly, the late NBC exec, Don Ohlmeyer, was responsible.