A Sarah Sherman live comedy show can be pretty disgusting — a trait that’s mostly a feature, not a bug. So was she asked to tone down the outrageousness when she was cast on Saturday Night Live? Not really, she says. “They let me go off.”
But on second thought…
“There have been some things,” she admitted during an interview with the Portland, Oregon ABC affiliate this week. “I don’t want to spoil anything because I still want to get these sketches made. But there’s been sketches that we’ve brought to the dress rehearsal that — let’s just say, how do I put this? — once they were on their feet, everyone was like, ‘This is far too gross to be put on television. NBC is going to get sued if we put this on.’”
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Other times, the show rewarded her for getting weird. “I got there and I’m a new cast member and it’s scary. And my friend (SNL writer) Dan Bulla was like, ‘I have an idea for you. What if your body is covered in meatballs?’ So I was encouraged to be behaving strangely on the show.”
“Too gross” doesn’t just apply to revolting visuals. Sherman made an early mark on the show by getting noxious with Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost. “Every time we do it, I’m like, ‘Do you mind if I say some stuff about you? If I make fun of you and I call you a child groomer?’” she laughed. “And he’s like, ‘Totally. Love it.’ And he’s sitting there laughing like an idiot.”
Sherman’s fans are getting in on the repugnant act as well. The comic shared a few Sarah Sherman dolls that audience members gift her at her stand-up shows. Not only is a scary-ass voodoo puppet wearing a cowprint outfit identical to one that Sherman owns, “the teeth are very human,” she pointed out. “It’s fabulous! Someone gave this to me in the audience at the New Orleans show so there’s a king cake baby” tangled in the doll’s snarled hair.
KATU
Sherman’s dream job at SNL also allows her to indulge her penchant for weird outfits. In addition to raiding the show’s 50 years’ worth of funky costumes, she also gets to usher in new ones. “I played RFK Jr.’s brain worm, and the costume department made me a couture worm (outfit),” she marveled. “Gorgeous.”
Sherman promises to work to get more nauseating comedy on Saturday Night Live’s upcoming 50th season. Hey, the show knew what they were getting when they hired her. “You never think, Oh yeah, I’ll get on SNL,’” she told KATU. “It was the worst mistake they’ve ever made.”