With Louis C.K. hosting the season finale of NBC’s Saturday Night Live last night, expectations were high. And while the majority of the night left us a bit disappointed, the one segment that truly shown through wasn’t even a sketch, it was Louis C.K.’s monologue. When a stand-up comedian takes on SNL, it is their opening monologue that usually gets the crowd going. It’s a time where they can test out new material in front of millions of viewers at home. And Louis C.K. didn’t hold back, tackling all the offensive topics from racism to the Middle East to child molesters, all in less than 10 minutes. Take a look:
The SNLmonologue is that Louis C.K. brand of comedy you’ve either grown to love or hate. He has no problem exploring topics that would otherwise be deemed too offensive to talk about aloud, and he won’t hold back on exactly what he thinks. The bits about being mildly racist and his young daughters optimizing the conflict in the Middle East are just the start. It’s the child molester portion where you can really hear the crowd react with hesitation to laugh.
The running theme throughout the monologue is that Louis C.K. grew up in the 70s. He explains it as an era that shaped his mild-racism, his annoyances with the fighting in the Middle East, and a time where child molesters were easily pointed out. He explains what it means to be mildly racist through a set of real-life examples. One in particular was the difference between a white male in a hoodie vs. a black male in a hoodie. C.K. uses the analogy to acknowledge his mildly racist attitude, explaining that while he’s not outright racist, he still thinks about these things.
Then the sketch moves towards the Middle East, which C.K. compares to his two young daughters fighting, calling them “a couple of selfish little bitches who won’t fix anything” while he (representing the U.S.) has to try to settle their disputes. But while these topics walked the line of offensive, it was the child molestation portion of his set which really sent him over the edge. C.K. starts with a story about a child molester who lived in his neighborhood growing up (who C.K. was a bit upset about the child molester not taking interest in him). The story turned into the comedian trying to imagine why child molesters commit their crimes, though. And for some, this was where it really went too far.
C.K. acknowledged the controversy of the subject, joking that this bit would probably make this his last show, but he went on to imagine why child molesters take the risk, and he concludes that it must be because molesting is amazing. The Louie creator compared the act of molesting to eating his favorite candy, Mounds bars, saying that at least if someone were to tell him to stop eating Mounds or he would be arrested, he would stop. And with that, C.K. deems that child molesting must be really, really good (but not for him).
It was definitely a controversial opening to a show that fell short on many of its sketches. And while the uproar following the monologue was negative, it did get people noticing, and that, if nothing else, is what Louis C.K. does best. You can see Louis C.K. on his own FX show, Louie Thursdays at 10:30pm ET.
