Why was Sarah Silverman fired from SNL? Here's what we know

Comedian Sarah Silverman recently revealed how Conan O’Brien helped her after getting fired from Saturday Night Live in 1994, after working for one year as a writer and cast member.

For context, Silverman and O’Brien were just starting their comedic careers in the early 1990s. O’Brien had worked as a writer on SNL and The Simpsons before landing the gig to host NBC’s Late Night talk show after David Letterman. Silverman started her career a few years before landing her gig at SNL for the 1993–94 season. However, she unfortunately got dropped after only one season.

Considering how well-known Sarah Silverman is, it’s surprising to learn that she was removed from the show. In a HuffPost interview in 2013, she mentioned that she wasn’t fired for any personal reasons, but because of a change in the comedic landscape within the show:

"It wasn’t like I did something wrong. I was hired, and… I was, I think that last year of the old guard, and [then] they started anew.”

Sarah Silverman noted that her comedic style may not have fit with the stylistic changes within the show, with a shifting focus toward the “Bad Boys of SNL” in the 1990s. However, she also acknowledged that it might have been because of the quality of her scripts at the time.

In a 2010 interview with Howard Stern, she spoke about why her scripts may not have been picked on the show:

"I saved them all these years. They were terrible. Turns out they were not at all funny."

Silverman said that other scripts weren’t necessarily better than hers, but that her comedic tone did not suit the creative direction SNL was heading in at the time:

"Maybe I wasn't cynical enough at that point and I wrote real earnest stuff."

Sarah Silverman says Conan O'Brien helped her save her career after the SNL firing

During a recent conversation with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show, Sarah Silverman opened up about her experience after losing the SNL job:

“I was totally thrown for a loop when I was fired because it never occurred to me that was possible. But I think it’sdefinitely for the best.”

She further revealed how Conan O’Brien helped her by inviting her to his Late Night talk show:

“Conan was the best thing for me. That was his first year [on ‘Late Night’], and was my first and only year at ‘SNL.’ And he put me on all the time, even after I was fired, all the time, and that was the start for me.”

Previously, she stated that the experience was very intense and felt like a boot camp. However, looking back at those years, she is happy that she didn’t let it define who she was. It led her to hone her comedic voice in other ways. Speaking about SNL, she added:

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"It's magical, it's so amazing but there is just something about it where they have this energy that puts you in your place when you feel like a piece of s**t and you're terrified. So, it's really hard to zen and chill there."

Despite the unfortunate incident early in her career, Sarah Silverman went on to become one of the most successful comedians, with a bright acting, writing, and stand-up career spanning over three decades — with two Emmys under her belt.

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