Alec Baldwin Reacts to Rob Schneider's 'SNL' Criticism
Former SNL star Rob Schneider recently hurled some criticism at the show over a specific sketch, and now actor Alec Baldwin has reacted to the comments. During a recent conversation with former FOX News host Glenn Beck, Schneider critiqued a 2016 post-election cold open segment, wherein Kate McKinnon performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" while in character as Hillary Clinton. According to Schneider, this moment served as an example of modern comedy attempting to "indoctrinate" viewers.
In an Instagram video, Baldwin — a 17-time SNL host who also guest starred as the show's Donald Trump impressionist for numerous seasons — quipped that it "must be an incredibly slow news cycle if we're talking about Rob Schneider's thoughts about Kate McKinnon playing Hillary Clinton so many years ago." He admitted to finding Schneider to be a "very, very funny" comedian, and stated that the Hot Chick star had a "great run" on Saturday Night Live, but had a further observation. "You've got to be careful when you criticize people for their judgment," Baldwin said. "And you turn around and pause for a moment and realize, well that judgment of theirs led them to hire you once upon a time."
"I hear that these conservatives say that there's a bias against them, and I think that's unfortunate," Baldwin added. "There's people that I know, and I won't name them, who are conservatives, who are arch-conservatives... Trump is the only president in our country's history who has served as president and was unchanged by the process. It must be tough for the Rob Schneiders of the world. It must be tough that your man is a maniac."
Baldwin also noted Schneider's criticism of his Trump impression, a former president that he referred to as a "maniac," but, curiously, agreed with Schneider's take. "I made him [Trump] cartoon," he explained. "I wanted to take him to another level of madness." Baldwin then acknowledged that not all SNL episodes may be good, which is the case with many pieces of work: "SNL is a live TV show… It's not easy."
He continued, "I divide the episodes of SNL the way I divide everything else. You look at an actor's career, you look at a director's career… I divide it into thirds: A third of it's good, a third of it's so-so, and a third of it's not very good. And a third of the episodes of SNL have been good, and a third of them so-so, and a third not so good."