Did you know that Samuel L. Jackson hasn’t been on Saturday Night Live in nearly a decade? The now-Oscar winner previously claimed that Kenan Thompson got him banned back in 2012. During one of Thompson’s classic sketches called “What Up With That?,” Jackson reportedly said “f**k” twice, but recently blamed the former All That star for not cutting him off before saying the full word as he was apparently supposed to.
However, Thompson explained to Tonight Show host and SNL alum Jimmy Fallon on a recent episode that the cue card only read the letter f, not the entire word. “I don’t have the authority to do that,” the Kenan star added in regards to the alleged ban.
“When he did it the first time, I was processing, like, ‘Oh snap, he did it and I didn’t make it or whatever, I didn’t cut him off in time.’ That just happened. […] But we kind of expect the f-word out of Sam Jackson, so no harm done. But then he doubled down and said it again, and I was like, ‘Yo, my man, we gotta pay for those.’”
However, Thompson cleared the air and even invited Jackson to return to SNL.
“Hey, Sam. It’s all good, bro,” he began while looking directly into the camera. “You’re welcome anytime, from what I’ve been hearing. He’s been mad at me for that, so my bad, bruh, you know what I’m saying? I didn’t think he was gonna do it like that, but…come on in whenever you want. It’s Sam Jackson, who doesn’t want Sam Jackson on the show?”
While Jackson is known for his foul mouth, he is not the actor with the most onscreen profanity. Naturally, he regarded the ranking as “bullsh*t.”
Watch Thompson’s full remarks below.