With the news that ran on Ellen DeGeneres’ treatment of her staff on her talk show, Ellen, maybe she’s not the only TV executive to be checked. Saturday Night Live executive producer and creator, Lorne Michaels, has experienced his fair share of grumbling from previous players over the years. One of the former cast members of SNL says that Michael uses cult-like behavior.
‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Taran Killam says the episodes aired on Seth Meyers were different
According to Taran Killam, who went out Saturday Night Live in 2018, the comedy series revolved around a certain point.
“… he felt the show was less changed after Seth Meyers left as lead writer,” Vulture reported. De SNL alum explained on a podcast at the time:
When Seth Meyers left the show, the dynamic changed quite a bit. … And I also think the 40th [anniversary show] really kind of hit Lorne in that I find it exciting and I find that flattering and I think he could really enjoy in this incredible setting that he is responsible for and all these great iconic careers and all his famous friends, and it had to have been the most powerful overwhelming impulse of a ‘this is your life’ experience ever. And then it all went away, and then it was back to this cast who’s 40 years younger than you and not as famous as Tina Fey or whatever, and my experience was that he became very impatient.
Killam accused Saturday Night Live of “being less of a happy place to be” after the series hit its 40-year mark. The show also evolved into a “competitive, exhausting environment.”
‘SNL’ creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels is accused of harsh conditions throughout the seasons
But this is by no means the first time the Saturday Night Live executive producer has received criticism. In 1995, New York Magazine published an in-depth article on the inner workings of SNL. One former cast member had harsh words for Michaels.
“It’s the same techniques that cults use,” he said Saturday Night Live alum accused. “They keep you informed for hours, they never let you know you’re okay, and they always make you think your place could be taken by someone else at any moment.”
Michaels, they argued, “wants people to feel insecure.”
The magazine notes that Michaels was more present Saturday Night Live season then in the past. All that did, however, was raise the “all-therapy-caliber paranoia level” of the staff. There were also other complaints about the executive producer.
‘Saturday Night Live’ cast accused Lorne Michaels of harsh working conditions
RELATED: ‘Saturday Night Live’: Colin Jost Explains Why He’s Afraid of Leaving the Show
Michaels has produced several earlier SNL cast movies and TV shows. But, for many Saturday Night Live stars, which felt less like the outcome of a professional relationship, and more like another measure of Michaels’ control. In fact, many SNL alums claimed that developing a project outside of Michaels’ management and production company would result in some sort of punishment during your time on the show.
“Your sketches don’t come up, or you go in the last five minutes of the show,” the ex-player claims. Others who knew Michael well said Saturday Night Live creator was too obsessed with celebrity and power.
“He wants to be a legend,” they said in 1995. “And he would have tattooed ‘legendary’ in his underwear if possible.”
