Amy Poehler knows that certain “Saturday Night Live” sketches during her time on the series haven’t aged well.
An “SNL” cast member from 2001 to 2008, Poehler portrayed public figures such as Japanese artist Yoko Ono and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during her time at Studio 8H. Now, Poehler has reflected on what she learned from potentially problematic sketches.
Poehler said during her “Good Hang” podcast in the below video that “getting older and being in comedy is you have to, like, figure out, ‘Oh, it’s like everything has an expiration date.’”
Poehler returned earlier this year to NBC’s “SNL” stage for the 50th anniversary event, which included an “In Memoriam” segment for such sketches. “There was even on the 50th, when they had that segment which was like, ‘Here’s all the ways we got things wrong,’ and they showed way inappropriate casting for people,” she said. “We all played people that we should not have played. I misappropriated, I appropriated…I didn’t know.”
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Poehler added, “It’s very real, and the best thing you can do is make repairs, learn from your mistakes, do better. It’s all you can do.”
During the 50th anniversary show, Tom Hanks introduced the “In Memoriam” segment, saying, “Even though these characters, accents, and let’s just call them ethnic wigs were unquestionably in poor taste, you all laughed at them. So if anyone should be canceled, shouldn’t it be you, the audience?”
Poehler previously recalled being part of the star-studded “SNL50” special. “It was a night of famous alumni and people,” Poehler said on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast. “There were so many people that people had to share dressing rooms, so I was sharing my dressing room with Meryl Streep. Just like a fan, I was taking a picture of the door that said my name and ‘Meryl Streep,’ and it was really cool.”
Poehler added “[Meryl Streep] was getting ready for her sketch and really rehearsing it, and I remember thinking, ‘I have never rehearsed as hard as Meryl Streep is in this one moment.’”
