Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels has insisted that Donald Trump’s presidency will not have a chilling effect on political comedy — and downplayed the notion that Stephen Colbert’s firing was an act of censorship.
In an interview with the online news site Puck, the “famously elusive” 80-year-old TV magnate opened up about the future of TV comics under a president who has repeatedly sued or even threatened to shut down media outlets that displeased him.
“Whatever crimes Trump is committing, he’s doing it in broad daylight,” Michaels said. “There is absolutely nothing that the people who vote for him—or me—don’t know. You know what I mean?
“And he is a really powerful media figure. He knows how to hold an audience. That’s a very powerful thing, and I think it was always underestimated.
“His politics are obviously not my politics, but denouncing [him] doesn’t work.”
Asked whether he thought political comedy would be more difficult now because media companies such as Disney and Paramount are settling lawsuits with Trump, Michaels said: “No. I don’t think anybody knows what Michael Che’s politics are, but they do think he’s funny.”
CBS has insisted that canceling Colbert’s Late Show after nearly a decade was “purely a financial decision” that was “not related in any way” to “other matters happening” at the network’s parent company Paramount.
But multiple CBS staffers told The Independent they believed it was a continuation of a “Trump shakedown” that began with Paramount’s settlement of a seemingly winnable lawsuit with the administration.
“I was just stunned,” said Michaels, who has been SNL’s executive producer nearly continuously since 1975, and who ultimately answers to NBC and its parent company Comcast.
Michaels gave an economic explanation for Colbert’s firing, saying he catered well to those who watch TV but not to those who watch clips later on TikTok and YouTube.
“I’m on the side of the people who do shows, but there’s two audiences now,” he said.
Asked by Puck if he thought the firing was political, Michaels said: “I don’t think any of us are ever going to know that.”
Michaels further said he had been assured by his own bosses that Colbert’s fellow late night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, whom Trump has suggested are next to be canceled, were safe for the foreseeable future.
“Yes. I think [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts — who I will be working for for the rest of my life, who I have very high admiration for — has integrity,” he said.
“At the same time, everyone has [broadcast] licenses… but I really don’t believe that we affect things… even with this president.”
The SNL creator also teased a major shake-up for the 51st season of the long-running comedy show, in contrast to the lack of any big cast departures following the Season 50 finale — although he confirmed that he would keep James Austin Johnson as Trump.
“I wanted people coming back and being part of [the 50th season],” Michaels said. “So when Kate [McKinnon] hosted, Kristen [Wiig] and Maya [Rudolph] came back for it.
“And that meant there couldn’t be those kind of disruptions [to the cast], or anything that was going to take the focus off.”
