Could ‘SNL50’s Problematic Segment Cost This Actor An Oscar?

Adrien Brody was on two different TV shows this past Sunday night, in two very different contexts. 

First off, he appeared at the U.K.’s annual BAFTA Awards where he took home the prize for Best Leading Actor for his work in The Brutalist. Between this and his Golden Globe win earlier this year, Brody is now poised to win his second Oscar next month. If he wins, hopefully it won’t result in an literal crime this time around.

But the actor also made a surprise appearance during Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special, but only in an unfortunate piece of archival footage. Deep into SNL50, Tom Hanks presented a mock “in memoriam” segment, paying tribute to the “SNL characters and sketches that have aged horribly.” The assorted clips included John Belushi’s Samurai character (under the heading of “Ethnic Stereotypes”), Adam Sandler’s controversial “Canteen Boy” (labeled “Child Molestation”) and host O.J. Simpson (“Problematic Guests”). Of course, they didn’t include all the controversial sketches, or else the show would still be going. 

It also featured the, now-notorious clip of host Brody in a dreadlocked wig, sporting a baffling, wildly offensive Jamaican accent to introduce Sean Paul in 2003. The caption was simply “Whoa.” 

The big question is: Could Brody’s clip popping up in SNL50 have any impact on the Oscar race? After all, the special’s audience was packed full of the most famous names in Hollywood, and it was seen by nearly 15 million home viewers, all of whom were reminded of Brody’s cringey stunt. And unlike all the other clips, SNL wasn’t actually to blame for that moment, since the bit was reportedly 100 percent the actor’s idea.

As one viewer pointed out on social media, Brody’s unfortunate SNL50 cameo happened to drop on the second-to-last day of Oscar voting.

It doesn’t seem too far-fetched to suggest that Saturday Night Live could play a part in Academy members’ decision-making, considering that Brody has already been asked about this particular episode of SNL during his awards season interview rounds. And SNL itself has historically been a way for acting nominees to promote themselves in the lead-up to Oscar night.

Actors ranging from Sam Rockwell to Gwyneth Paltrow have all appeared on SNL in the weeks preceding an Oscar win. And perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that, amid rumors that Brody was banned from SNL, arguably his biggest Best Actor competition, Timothée Chalamet, hosted the show in January. He even pulled double duty as host and musical guest, performing songs by Bob Dylan to further highlight his work in the biopic A Complete Unknown.

Then again, if Academy members were watching SNL50, maybe they’ll just decide to retroactively present the award to Adam Sandler to make up for the Uncut Gems snub.