This Saturday Night Live sketch about ISIS has ignited a hailstorm of controversy and it’s all so very, very stupid.
During the Super Bowl, Toyota rolled out an emotional television commercial titled “My Bold Dad.” The advertisement for the Toyota Camry has a tearful father driving his daughter to the airport so she can begin her career in the U.S. military.
Saturday Night Live used this commercial as their vehicle in this hilarious skit that pokes fun of the sudden and curious phenomenon of teenage girls leaving the families in the U.K. and U.S. to join ISIS. Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson played the young girl leaving her daddy for the first time. SNL cast member Taran Killam plays the sorrowful father who is devastated to see his daughter go… join ISIS. A pick-up truck with Islamic State’s iconic black flag and three insurgents armed with machine guns, a mounted turret and an RPG pulls up.
“You be careful, OK?” the dad warns his daughter. Johnson replies, “Dad, it’s just ISIS,” and winks at her dad. Then as tears run down his face the father looks one of the ISIS fighters and says, “Take care of her.” The terrorist responds with a solemnly nod and replies, “Death to America.”
For Saturday Night Live this is an especially edgy skit and they pull it off perfectly. However not everyone found the humor in the sketch.
@ffweekend Definitely went too far. It only glamorized joining ISIS — Mary AnnToole-Powers (@mary_powers65) March 1, 2015
When you have loved ones being slaughtered by ISIS, the #SNL skit doesn’t seem so funny. Absolutely disgusting @nbcsnl
— Rosa Hana (@RosaHana) March 1, 2015
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Can’t be serious. Isis skit? Like going to college? When so many people are being kidnapped and killed? Depraved. #SNL — Raine LaChance (@rainelachance) March 1, 2015
#nbc #SNL Really? Skits about ISIS? You are whacked and sick. These are terrorists who are chopping off the heads of our citizens. Not cool
— Deb (@WoodfordDeb) March 1, 2015
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@ffweekend Do NOT agree with it! They went way to far and I will cancel my series recording of SNL because of it. — Deanna Epps (@IRESQBIRDS) March 1, 2015
Huh?
This man actually got physically ill.””
@ffweekend Not funny. Makes me ill. Smacks of clueless, arrogant, insensitive elites.
— Joey Freeman (@JoeFree76) March 1, 2015
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Just saw maybe the most unfunny #SNL piece of all time. Is ISIS really a good subject for humor? #nbc And I’ve loved SNL for decades.
— Ed Tate (@edwardtate) March 1, 2015
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I’m going to go ahead and voice my opinion on the #SNL ISIS skit. Absolutely hell no, under any circumstance. Poor poor taste! — Matthew Lyle (@mlyle2) March 1, 2015
Can someone please explain to me how that Toyota commercial/ ISIS skit on SNL was funny? Absolutely sick. Man @nbcsnl has lost it #unreal — Mel (@mell_zimmerman) March 1, 2015
SNL opening skit about ISIS was not funny. Not funny at all. Very sick. #Idiot Writers #SickHumor #SNLNeedsCancellled
— Chrissy Hartmann (@crhb4) March 1, 2015
Not sure that #SNLNeedsCancellled is going to catch fire on Twitter.
I just watched my last SNL! They’re making jokes about ISIS and it makes me sick! #snl #losers — Ryan Herndon (@Myaz75tweet) March 1, 2015
This is what causes you to stop watching SNL, but you kept on watching when Justin Bieber was on the show?
I love when unfunny people who wouldn’t know comedy if it walked up to them wearing bells on it’s shoes and fucked them with a cactus have the audacity to comedy writers what funny is.
Dear #SNL, jokes about Isis are not funny. See how much you laugh when you have to see your loved one(s) being slaughtered. No respect.
— Chasity (@RugratChas) March 1, 2015
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I think the ISIS skit was over the line. Not funny, guys … some things are not joke material. That was really, REALLY bad. #SNL — DieselFarina (@DieselFarina) March 1, 2015
I don’t care the… Isis skit was in poor taste.. especially when a young women was kidnapped and killed recently by them … #snl #hellno — Susan Hunt (@StSusanHunt) March 1, 2015
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Actually offended by the ISIS sketch… Is that seriously all you could come up with? @nbcsnl #SNL — Liv Amato (@liv_amato) March 1, 2015
This gentleman went so far as to say that Dakota Johnson just committed career suicide for appearing in the skit.
@ffweekend I’m thinking that her career in Hollywood is in Jeopardy now. This is not funny at all. — Harry Gadier (@gadier69) March 1, 2015
“” Killiam defended the skit on his Twitter.
Proud of this. Freedom to mock is our greatest weapon. Thanks to the writers who asked not to be mentioned by name. https://t.co/FjdX9xGewX — taran killam (@TaranKillam) March 1, 2015
Saturday Night Live writers did not make up the fact that there are young girls leaving their families to help ISIS take over the world. In October, three girls aged 15, 16 and 17 from the Denver area were caught in Germany in their attempt to travel to Syria and aid Islamic State. On Feb. 17, three British teenage girls left their homes and went to Syria to help ISIL. London’s counter terrorism coordinator Helen Ball said that in the last year 60 women have traveled to join ISIS, including 22 young women, 18 of which are under the age of 20.
The skit didn’t mention the innocent victims getting beheading. The skit didn’t glamorize people joining ISIS. The skit is just a fucking skit. It was a “PARODY” video on a “COMEDY” show. This wasn’t on CNN or Fox News, it was on dopey Saturday Night Live. They were making a comedic parallel to a popular Super Bowl commercial with the sudden rage of young girls from Western societies leaving their families to help a terrorist organization’s attempt to take over the world.
Shannon Maureen Conley was sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to join ISIS, so a harmless skit aimed at despicaple people who are basically committing treason should absolutely not offend anyone.
Remember when you couldn’t go more than a minute without seeing #JeSuisCharlie rightfully plastered everywhere? That was less than two months ago. The entire world came to the defense of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, not because everyone supported the articles and cartoons that they were printing, but to defend their right to print it. Where did all that support for free speech go? We are such forgetful creatures.
I think comedian Kurt Metzger said it best when he gave a suggestion to those offended by the parody skit.
If you were deeply offended by that great SNL ISIS sketch, I urge you to go backpacking alone on the Syrian border. Bring bibles. — Kurt Metzger (@kurtmetzger) March 1, 2015