These SNL Moments Were Too Awkward...

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 most shocking, funny, bizarre, or cringey moments on Saturday Night Live. Which moment was too awkward for you to handle? Let us know in the comments!

#20: Kristen Stewart’s F Bomb

Hosting “SNL” is an exciting moment in anyone’s life. For actress Kristen Stewart, some of that excitement was present in her opening monologue. She initially expressed nervousness that Donald Trump might be watching because he had previously commented on her past relationship with Robert Pattinson. She ended the monologue with a bit about not being too cool to host the show where she was joined by Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant. While proclaiming how happy she is to be on the program, Stewart let slip an expletive. She immediately caught herself but it clearly caught everyone off guard.

#19: Suitcase Boy

If you were to picture Robert Downey Jr. in a suit, it would most likely be in an Iron Man suit, not a suitcase. Back in 1986, a 20 year old Downey was rolled out on stage in a comically large contraption where only his head is visible. He claims he’s going to do a confrontational monologue and we’re not sure what that even means. He goes on to express a series of non-sequiturs until Joan Cusack comes out in a suitcase as well. He’s upset that Cusack is going to steal his thunder and falls over in anger. Season 11 of “SNL” is frequently cited as one of the show's worst and with a sketch as baffling as this, it’s not hard to see why.

#18: January Jones Is Gassy

A parody of “Rear Window” sounds like a fun concept but its execution leaves for more to be desired. January Jones portrays Grace Kelly and the simple setup is that she has gas and she keeps farting while trying to shoot a scene with Jimmy Stewart played by Jason Sudeikis. That’s the depth of this sketch and it’s painful to watch. The only thing that can be added is more farting effects and it certainly doesn’t improve anything. In fact, the only real positive takeaway is that Jones eventually breaks.

#17: Larry David’s Holocaust Jokes

If you watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, you know Larry David is the one person willing to say the things others won’t say to avoid feeling uncomfortable. It really shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that David brought up the Holocaust during his monologue. He mentions how it would be difficult to pick up women in a concentration camp. Sometimes things are better left unsaid as the bit caused some controversy due to the sensitive nature of the subject. And while audience members let out a few laughs, to our ear, they sounded nervous as they may have been unsure of how to react.

#16: Safelite Autoglass Gets Creepy

This one started out decently enough but didn’t stick the landing. In a parody of Safelite commercials, we are presented with a technician checking in with a mother and daughter duo after repairs were made to their car. This happens a few times because the windshield keeps cracking. Where things go off the rails is when it’s revealed that the employee has been purposefully breaking the windshield to get close to the daughter. It was an unnecessary turn that made everything creepier than it needed to be. Safelite was none too thrilled about its portrayal and eventually this segment was removed from subsequent airings for a time.

#15: Father Daughter Ad

The setup for this commercial spoof seems innocuous enough, a dad dropping off his daughter at the airport. Things take a turn towards the unexpected when instead of the daughter going off to college, she’s actually joining ISIS. Unsurprisingly, many people took exception to this as it seemed to be making light of the pain and suffering the group has caused. Not helping matters were some of the more cringe inducing lines like, “Dad, it’s just ISIS”. There just isn’t much substance beyond the shock value of having a young woman join an extremist group.

#14: Nude Beach

Bob and Doug are at a nude beach resort and Doug, played by Matthew Broderick, is understandably feeling a little nervous. When they meet a larger group of Bob’s friends, all they can talk about is the male appendage, with nearly everyone commenting how small Bob’s is. The initial mention is humorous but they really run the concept into the ground. In about four minutes, the word penis is uttered around 40 times including in a song. Naturally when this aired, 46,000 complaints were sent in.

#13: Gen Z Hospital

The way younger generations talk sure is funny, don’t you think? At least that’s what this sketch would have you believe. In a parody of daytime soaps, a group of friends are at a hospital trying to find out if “Bestie” is okay and the conceit is that everyone uses slang typically attributed to members of Gen Z. Unfortunately, there are no jokes beyond the phrases used sounding out of place in a serious medical context. Many viewers found it cringey while others also claimed the show was misappropriating the use of African-American Vernacular English.

#12: Commie Hunting Season

This sketch is frequently considered one of the worst on “SNL” and it’s not hard to see why. It seems to be satirizing the Greensboro massacre where far right extremists shot and killed communist protesters in Greensboro, North Carolina. The main thing working against this segment is that it’s just not funny. It’s only about 3 minutes long but feels longer because there are zero laughs throughout the entire runtime. It’s painful to watch because the actors say their lines expecting some reaction from the audience but all they get is silence. Oh, and they use a racial epithet at about 30 seconds in, so not a great recipe for success.

#11: Sinead O'Connor Tears a Photo of the Pope

She only made one appearance on “SNL” but it's one of the most memorable and controversial. Her first performance of the night was her single, “Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home”. She received thunderous applause from the audience which would be the complete opposite reaction to her later performance. O’Connor did an acapella rendition of Bob Marley’s “War” and towards the end she held up a photo of Pope John Paul II and tore it. The result was dead silence as she stood there as everyone was in shock over what they just witnessed. The action was meant to highlight wrong doings occurring within the Church but wouldn’t be widely acknowledged until much later.

#10: Louis C.K.’s Inappropriate Jokes

This is one opening monologue that’s aged terribly, especially given the misconduct allegations now associated with the comedian. Bringing to a close "SNL's" 40th season, Louis C.K.'s risky stand-up routine tackled racism and, for good measure, the Israel and Palestine conflict. While the comedian's entire set was soaked in controversy, the monologue's final tangent ramped up the awkwardness to a whole new level. Reminiscing about a creepy individual who lived in his neighborhood, Louis C.K. concluded that the only reason such crimes continue to happen, despite the risk of prison, is because the act must be really enjoyable.

#9: Adrien Brody’s Dreads

Inaugurated in 1975, "Saturday Night Live" has crossed the line countless times; however, occasionally, a performer takes things a step too far and earns a ban for their troubles. Hot off an Academy Award-winning performance in "The Pianist," Adrien Brody hosted "SNL" for the first and last time. Due to time constraints, "SNL" frowns on improvisation, but this didn’t discourage Brody from taking charge when he introduced Sean Paul's musical performance. Making things as awkward as possible, the actor decided to don fake dreadlocks and speak in an awful Jamaican accent. What was even the joke here? Adrien, scripts exist for a reason.

#8: Andy Kaufman Wrestles Women

During "Saturday Night Live's" infancy, Andy Kaufman frequently dropped by for random appearances, and the comedian's peculiar style of humor proved to be a hit with fans. This changed in 1979 when Andy Kaufman challenged a female audience member to a wrestling match. At the time, Kaufman's villainous wrestling persona was a significant component of the entertainer's live routine, but this fact was lost on "SNL's" crowd. Kaufman was booed and, effectively, kicked off the variety show. A couple of years later, the home audience voted for Kaufman to be banned from "Saturday Night Live".

#7: Tom Green Ditched at the Altar

Primarily known for "Freddy Got Fingered," Tom Green's brand of shock comedy certainly made an impression during his hosting gig in 2000. Whether people are fans of this type of humor or not, Green's randomness means there tends to always be an element of awkwardness. During the opening monologue, Green and fiancee Drew Barrymore announced plans to wed by the end of the episode, although the whole thing proved to be little more than a tease. If the skits are intentionally awkward, does it still count?

#6: Tiger Woods Skit

A lot of topics can be made funny, but that doesn’t mean a joke shouldn’t be criticized for being in poor taste. Satirizing Tiger Woods' infidelity and ensuing car accident on the night his wife Elin Woods learned about her husband's behavior, "SNL's" skit saw Kenan Thompson’s terrified Woods deliver a series of apologetic press conferences. Progressively presented in a more battered state, Thompson appeared alongside Blake Lively's Elin, with the implication being that she was responsible for his injuries. Domestic violence and comedy aren’t exactly a great mix, and "Saturday Night Live's" sketch exemplifies why this is the case.

#5: Mocking a Blind Person

There’s controversial humor, and then there’s mining disabilities for easy jokes. As part of the "Weekend Update with Seth Meyer," Fred Armisen portrayed New York's Governor, David Paterson, as a bumbling man who couldn’t even properly hold a map. The real Paterson is legally blind, so besides being an all-around lazy joke, “SNL” was poking fun at the governor’s real life condition. Unsurprisingly, the National Federation of the Blind criticized "SNL" for echoing a detrimental stereotype associating blindness with incompetence.

#4: Steven Seagal’s Andrew Dice Clay Impersonation

It’s an episode that lives on in infamy: that time the Great One hosted SNL. Putting on a faux-New York accent, Steven Seagal set out to deliver comedy gold, serenading the crowd with a passionate rendition of “Kung Fu Fighting” and smashing Rob Schneider’s head into a photocopier. He brought the show home, or at least tried to, with a laughable impersonation of Andrew Dice Clay, a comedian known for his notoriously misogynistic persona. The only problem? The crowd clearly had no clue what was going on! Seagal’s minimalist acting just isn’t compatible with impressions, and the awful skits he wrote landed him a ban from hosting duties.

#3: Martin Lawrence’s Opening Monologue

Going off script on “SNL” is the quickest way to ensure no more subsequent appearances. Right out of the gate, Martin Lawrence ventured off the beaten path when he unleashed a rambling monologue challenging the network's censorship. Rather than using this opportunity to address the topic further, he launched into an astonishing tirade about Lorena Bobbitt and women with smelly posteriors. Edited out of any repeat airings, Martin's monologue was substituted with a short graphic summarizing the comedian's comments and adding that it had almost cost the cast and crew their jobs.

#2: Ashlee Simpson’s Jig

A quick warning: watching this clip could result in uncontrollable cringing. Perpetually stuck in Jessica Simpson's shadow, Ashlee strived to serve as a punkier and more authentic alternative to her sister; unfortunately, lip-syncing on “Saturday Night Live”, emphasis on the “live”, doesn’t leave the greatest of impressions. When the band launched into her song “Autobiography”, the vocal track for “Pieces of Me” played instead, her lip-syncing, later explained as due to acid reflux, was exposed to the world. Mimicking a deer caught in the headlights, the unfortunate young singer ran off the stage, leaving behind a confused audience and the lingering traces of her career.

#1: Kanye West’s Pro-Trump Rant

Prior to the advent of the internet and digital cameras, a post-show speech like this may have been lost to the ages; for better or worse, Kanye West's Pro-Trump rant was recorded and immortalized. Wearing a Make America Great Again hat, Kanye – who was the musical guest of the night – addressed the crowd with a speech that can only be described as disheartening. Greeted with both boos and cheers from the audience, Kanye cited Trump as a personal inspiration, while simultaneously implying that the President is racist.