'Saturday Night Live' takes pro-Hillary allegations seriously
NEW YORK -- For three decades, "Saturday Night Live" has prided itself on skewering politicians of all stripes with equal zeal, from Chevy Chase's clumsy Gerald Ford to Darrell Hammond's sighing Al Gore.
Executive producer Lorne Michaels has long maintained that the show risks its comedy credentials if it appears partisan. So he is troubled by the recent chatter that the venerable late-night program has exhibited a pro-Hillary Clinton bent.
"That's a major concern," Michaels said. "I can assure you that there's no agenda, that there's only a reaction to what's going in the world."
Since returning to the air in late February after a hiatus forced by the writers strike, the comedy showcase has zoomed back into the political zeitgeist.
When media toughened its coverage of Sen. Barack Obama after a "SNL" sketch portrayed the press as fawning over him, analysts credited the show in part for the shift. (Obama even joked that he was going to call Michaels to complain.)
A series of other bits in recent weeks have contributed to the perception that the program is trying to sway public opinion toward Clinton. Guest host Tina Fey gave a shout-out to the New York senator, saying women like her "get stuff done." The candidate herself made a lighthearted appearance the following week, appearing in a matching brown tweed suit with cast member Amy Poehler, who plays Clinton on the show.
Two days later, Clinton performed strongly in the Ohio and Texas primaries.
Seth Meyers, one of show's three head writers, said he was amused by suggestions that "Saturday Night Live" changed the momentum of the race.
"We don't quite feel we've affected it as much as people want to give us credit for," he said.
"The show happens too quickly for any of us to have an agenda," added Meyers, who donated $1,000 to Obama in January. "And our egos as comedy writers are too big to ever let our own political loyalties get in the way of a joke. So we aim for whatever is the richest to be satirized on any given week."
Michaels, a political independent who donated to both Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd and to Republican Sen. John McCain last year, said the personal politics of the show's 23 writers don't influence its content.
"I really don't believe anyone walking around up there thinks, 'What can we do for Hillary right now?' " he said.
In fact, the show's mantra is that it's against "whoever is winning," said Poehler.
