Saturday Night Live has been under fire lately for not going through with their Harvey Weinstein jokes this past Saturday. Last week, after an explosive New York Times exposé revealed a long history of sexual assault and harassment by the Weinstein Company co-founder, celebrities have been coming forward and speaking out against him. Even his own company has fired him. Needless to say, Weinstein is in a whole lot of trouble as his gruesome actions are finally being recognized. However, Lorne Michaels seems to have his own way of approaching the situation.

SNL isn't shy when it comes to controversial topics. However, they chose not to go through with any of their originally planed Harvey Weinstein jokes during their show this past weekend that starred Gal Gadot of Wonder Woman. Many speculated that SNL showrunner, Lorne Michaels, was trying to protect Weinstein. To make matters worse, Michaels spoke to reporters after SNL's wrap party on Saturday, saying he didn't go through with any of the Weinstein jokes due to it being "a New York thing." It only made those who were already speculating that Michaels had chosen Weinstein over integrity.

Two Weinstein jokes were cut from SNL's broadcast including one from the renowned "Weekend Update" segment. Per Variety, both jokes were cut after dress rehearsal, right before the show went live, because the dress rehearsal audience didn't seem to be interested in either joke, not because of any alliance towards Harvey Weinstein.

It's fair to speculate that Michaels is trying to protect someone else in the business who is just as renowned as himself. While it can be easy to blame the dress rehearsal audience, there's a chance that there's more to this story than meets the eye. Hollywood is a complex city that is filled with both heroes and villains alike. Now, everyone is having to choose which side they're on.

More likely than not, most people probably knew that Weinstein was slimy, but the guy was powerful. He runs most of Hollywood. For these revelations to have now just come out as being valid shouldn't be shocking. Yet, there are still actors, producers, and directors who are staying quiet. Plenty of Hollywood's elite have been linked to protecting him and Michaels doesn't seem to be any different.

All that being said, assumptions are assumptions. Lorne Michaels has been running SNL for what feels like forever. Since the Weinstein news didn't break until two days before the show was to air, there's a chance that the jokes weren't that great of quality. As more and more revelations emerge dealing with Weinstein, SNL could have another chance to redeem themselves during their next episode. Saturday Night Live has rarely shied away from controversy, especially in the age of Trump, so we'll see what happens.

Source: Variety