Kenan Thompson invites Samuel L. Jackson back to SNL : 'Come on in whenever you want'

Sara Netzley
·2 min read

Kenan Thompson isn't going to let a little foul language stand between him and his former scene partner.

In the wake of rumors about Samuel L. Jackson being banished from Saturday Night Live, Thompson took the opportunity to extend an olive branch during his appearance on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show.

"Hey, Sam? It's all good, bro," Thompson said, directly addressing the camera. "You're welcome any time, from what I've been hearing."

Jackson used his recent conversation with EW's The Awardist podcast to address the rumor that he was blackballed from SNL for dropping the F-bomb during a 2012 sketch because Thompson didn't cut him off quickly enough.

Jackson told The Awardist that he thought he'd been banned from the show after that ill-fated appearance, but in a chance encounter with Lorne Michaels, the SNL boss assured him that wasn't the case.

In conversation with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, Thompson reiterated that Jackson is welcome back any time, and he took responsibility for the miscue in the sketch.

"My bad, bro," he said. "Come on in whenever you want."

Thompson, who recently hit his 1,500th sketch appearance on SNL, explained that the cue card just had "F" on it, and he thought Jackson would read his lines and stop with that one letter.

"But he went full train at it because, you know, I guess he's a Method kind of guy," he recalled. "I was like, 'Okay, whatever, that was pretty cool. But we kind of expect the F-word out of Sam Jackson, so no harm done."

In fact, Thompson and Fallon agreed that any show would be glad Jackson on it. "You can host The Tonight Show if you want, Sam," Fallon offered.

The SNL season 47 finale airs this weekend with host Natasha Lyonne — or "white Whoopi," as Thompson called the Russian Doll actress, citing her gravelly voice and New York accent. Japanese Breakfast will be the musical guest, and several longtime SNL cast members are expected to depart the show.

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