The inevitable Tiger Woods sketch on SNL this weekend hit the trifecta of being unfunny, in poor taste, and way too long. Yahtzee!
Why is this framed as a CNN segment? To show off Sudekis’s Blitzer? (I like Darrell Hammond’s and Chris Parnell’s better, personally.) No, it was to pad (and pad…and pad) a one-note concept that couldn’t sustain itself. The sketch was endless.
It wasn’t just unfunny, though: It was also incredibly tone-deaf. Intimate partner violence isn’t a ripe source of material in the first place, but with Rihanna as the musical star the sketch seemed even more poorly thought out. The whole joke was that Tiger Woods was lying about his wife assaulting him, with every imaginable cliché and crummy lie we’ve seen in a hundred Lifetime movies about domestic violence. It was lazy.
Could there have been a funny bit here? Definitely. But this hypothetical funny take would need to present an actual point of view, a unique thought, or some sharp commentary. This bit suffered from both an ill-conceived problem (Tiger Woods covering up his wife assaulting him) and a total lack of transformation or change. It was a padded stand-up bit, not a fully realized sketch, which makes it really hard to forgive the poor taste of the subject matter.
What did you think, PopWatchers?
I thought it was funny….the whole situation just keeps getting more ridiculous…I mean how egotistical to you have to be to think that an affair with not one, but seven women is ok. He had to know he would get caught…
The skit was SO funny! It was the best part of the show! I loved how he started pleading for help at the end! Hilarious!
It was funny I guess – but if SNL had done a skit about a MAN who beat his WIFE…that wouldn’t have been acceptable at ALL.
So I wonder about the double standard…
I don’t know that there’s a realistic double standard because you NEVER hear about a high-profile, celebrity wife cheating on her husband multiple times. If you did, the sketch might be funny in that case, too. We may never know. It’s just so hard to imagine the other way around.
C’mon, we live in a society filled with double-standards. It’s funny because he’s an incredible, once in a lifetime athlete who is “afraid” of his “strong” wife. That’s what makes it funny. That the small, “insignificant” wife could “hurt” him so badly. It’s like laughing when you see someone slip on the ice. You’re not proud, but it’s still funny.
I agree. What is interesting is that you do not get why it was framed as a CNN story. This is because the media has been covering this stupid thing like it was real news. OMG, how much can tiger’s infidelity be in the news.
The skit also highlighted how moronic tiger woods has been dealing with the situation.
Also, the handwritten notes were hilarious.
Am I the only one who thinks Keenan Thompson is the best thing on SNL?
The Tiger Woods skit was rediculous. Not funny and more stupid than anything. SNL needs a whole new writing team immediately or no one is going to watch it anymore..
I agree with you about Keenan!
WOW. Keenan’s definition of “impersonation” is “different wig and outfit.”
In his defense, he shouldn’t have to play EVERY BLACK PERSON on SNL… except the President. (A horrible impression too BTW.)
I agree. I thought it was funny. If anything, the writer of the article doesn’t have a sense of humor. The sketch was done in fine taste. And if Tiger would just put the rumors to rest then maybe we could take him a little more seriously and place the blame where it actually belongs, on the couple. However, until then we can all just laugh about the situation. But at the end of the day, domestic violence is NEVER the answer.
you are one sick ph*uk to laugh at someone who slips on the ice – jerk
Yeah! Golly! What a hoot!
But it _really_ would have been funny if she had been the cheater, and he had stomped her b–tch a-ss into the ground!
Right? That would have been really hilarious, wouldn’t it? Hello?
@JB absolutely not! keenan is awful. just plain awful.
Ken Tucker gives this show a B-, so it can’t be awful, and neither can anyone in the cast!
I don’t know about that one Trevor. What about the new girl who replaced Micheala Watkins? Not to beat her up for it, but she dropped the F-Bomb on her first show. It’s nervousness and a badly written skit that literally begged someone to “F” it up, but I think Watkins would never have made that mistake. Then again, and I forget his name, what about the short, fat guy with the wide eyes? Bobby Moynihan–that’s his name! He’s absolutely useless. I’d rather Keenan than Bobby. However, what would make both–if not all of them except the drop-dead hilarious Kristin Wigg–better would be better writing of the skits.
Only three vertebrates are monogamous. Turtle doves, wolves and beavers.
Primates don’t qualify.
I’m pretty sure those Japanese cranes are monogamous.
Human’s aren’t monogamous by biological imperative. Monogamy developed so that wealthy men could make sure that their children received the inheritance they wanted to pass on. That’s why male philandering has been, historically, given a pass when its not with another powerful man’s wife. Not fair, but understandable.
And swans. And dolphins.
I liked the joke on Weekend Update better, Tiger Woods hit a tree and a bunch of girls fell out. This skit was in poor taste considering Rihanna was there. It made me uncomfortable for her.
Agreed.
suck it up
What does Rhianna have to so with anything? Sorry, she’s the one who stayed in an abusive relationship and then miled it for all it’s worth to sell CD’s – I am sure she was laughing all the way to the bank.
Would that be before or after she ended up in the hospital? Grow up, idiot.
I agree with “Liar”. Not so much about staying in the relationship, but she definately milked the situation to promote her CDs. It’s one thing to speak out about a situation like this to help others and to get your story out there. It’s another to talk about it because you want people to buy your stuff.
I’m sure SNL wouldn’t have put it on if they hadn’t checked with Rihanna to make sure she wasn’t uncomfortable with it. And double-standards notwithstanding, this was funny. The guy’s a jerk [if he cheated, which looks like he did, and even before this came out he was a jerk to fans at the Western Open] and deserves being made fun of. Personally I’d have done exactly what she is purported to have done – and probably more. People need to lighten up, it’s SNL, it’s not “gentle comedy.”
Yeah she “milked it” like Kanye milked his car accident when he released Through the Wire which referred to him having to speak through a wired-shut jaw. C’mon I dont think either qualifies as a publicity stunt or anything of the sort. More like lemonade out of lemons, although that lemonade stands gonna probably bring in six figures.
Did it make you uncomfortable for her when she was all over ABC for an entire week talking to Diane Sawyer? Did it make you uncomfortable for her when she went back to Chris Brown after he all but ripped her head off and tossed it out the window? Get over yourself. And if she is that fragile then maybe she needs to stay out of the public eye for a while and go she a shrink.
Lighten up…I thought it was funny, and I loved Blake’s Norwegian accent.
It gets funnier by the hour as more women fall out of the tree.
It was funny and and probably close to the truth. Tight-asses need to lighten up.
This is why I watch SNL on my couch in my house… I can laugh out loud (loved Blake’s accent, also) and then compose myself before admitting it wasn’t in the best of taste. Kudos to SNL
What sketch were you watching? This was hilarious! I didn’t feel that it was in bad/poor taste at all. You need to lighten up.
Agreed. I’d suggest the author get over herself. It was quite funny. And the whole situation is a gentle reminder that indeed domestic violence can go in BOTH directions. It’s not just men perpetrators, women victims.
It’s not offensive…it’s comedy. Deal with it. It’s not SNL’s fault that he slept with 9 women and his wife swung at him with a 5 wood.
It’s up to 10 now.
I am waiting for the Tiger cubs to show up
I am going to admit up front that I haven’t seen the sketch yet. But just because something is comedy doesn’t mean it can’t be offensive. Trying to be funny doesn’t excuse you from any responsibility to think about what you are doing.
yes it does, that why it’s called a joke. get over your self
Maggie, I completely agree with you.
Well, of course jokes can be offensive, I can’t really fathom what dictionary someone is using who’d say they can’t — but “offensive” isn’t per se “bad.” Offensiveness is a great way to shake up the status quo, make people pay attention or reconsider, to push people’s buttons. I’m not arguing that that was what was going on on SNL (I think they’re just going for laughs anywhere they think they might find them), but most great art offends. People were offended when John Singer Sergeant painted a woman with her head turned to one side. People were offended when the Sex Pistols sang “She ain’t no human bein’.” I wouldn’t want to live in a world without offensive art.
But it is wrong to make light of domestic violence. Seriously-are we saying that it is okay for Tiger to get hit because he screwed around? That’s a pretty sad statement isn’t it?
Get a life people!
This was not making light of domestic violence – THE MAN WAS CAUGHT WITH BOTH HANDS IN THE COOKIE JAR!
If anything, this was a REVENGE skit about the falsehood that Woods is trying to pull over everyone.
I not only found it to be funny – It was the funniest thing on SNL in a long time – WAY TO GO SNL!
and as for the writer of this article – You can not PC everything, Dark Humor is a way of life & to try to darken the situation is appauling.
I don’t mind dark humor either, but Diane makes a good point. I’m not fond of people cheating on their spouses, but that certainly doesn’t mean they should get assaulted for it. Yet even beyond the comedic context, I get the sense that nobody would mind if Tiger got his butt kicked by his wife for cheating. That’s kind of a troubling thought. If it was the other way around (i.e., Tiger beating up his wife) for the same reason, people would be singing an entirely different tune. If, theoretically, Rihanna said the reason Chris Brown beat her up because she cheated on him, America would still crucify him over her.
thank you Dave. you rock
I thought it was one of the funniest sketches of the night. If I was Rihanna I would be far more offended by media writers that are constantly harping on her victimhood than I would be by a silly sketch.
the sketch was great, and if i was rihanna, i’d be angry that everyone was putting words into my mouth and saying that i was offended.
Did Margaret Lyons really write a full article about how unfunny this sketch was? Pretty much repeating everything Ken Tucker had said earlier? LAME! I think I may need to find another site to get my Entertainment news…
Yeah, please go
Oh shut up!
Ohhhh, yes, GoMe, please please go!
Oh, I’m sorry I dissed you, Margaret!
i thought it was funny. yeah domestic violence is nothing to laugh at, but i think whats more unfunny is how many ugly women are coming out of the woodwork that tiger slept with.
which woodwork did he sleep with? a birdhouse maybe?
I gotta say- I laughed out loud. Sure, it was probably in poor taste. But it was still kind of funny.
Just b/c you’re laughing at something or make fun of it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t take it seriously though.
I thought it was funny. I don’t condone any kind of violence in marriage, but I don’t feel sorry for Tiger, the professional athlete, if his petite wife threw a punch or two at him. He could have defended himself if he wanted to.
There you’re wrong. If Tiger had defended himself he’d be in jail. Now that’s a double standard!
It’s so weird, but so true. I just found out defending yourself can land yourself in jail. Seems crazy to me.
It was unfunny and in very poor taste. What would have been more funny if they had made a comment about the media’s unrelenting facsination with this story, or should I say non-story. This is tabloid gossip at it’s best but the mainstream media will not let it go.
yeah. and all that. but it was funny. GET SOME ELIN!!!!
Yes, that would be funny, too. But poor taste is kind of SNL’s business. They always go for the low-hanging fruit.
Agreed. Please lighten up. I enjoyed this sketch. It might not hold up to a dissertation but the one note it struck was mildly amusing.
Can this whole friggin’ country just get a sense of humor? Jeez, this PC crap is getting way out of control.
I have to echo everyone else–this was one of my favorite sketches of the night and I didn’t find it remotely offensive, nor did I find it slow. Funny how this is the second article on last week’s SNL that I’ve read on EW this week that I completely disagree with.
Domestic Violence is never funny (which I talked about here in my blog http://tinyurl.com/yd4b4o9). It was mean & nasty that they did this on a night Rihanna was performing.