Adam Sandler‘s joke in his SNL50 musical sketch about famous artists turning out to be antisemitic bigots struck a chord, thanks to its real-world parallels. Viewers immediately started making assumptions about whom the comedian was referring to — and in an interview months later, he addresses just that.
When asked in an interview with Vulture published Monday (Aug. 26) whether he’d had a “particular musician in mind” while writing the standout line — “50 years of finding out your favorite musician is antisemitic,” he sang on the February program — Sandler answered diplomatically. “Well, you know, whoever wants to grab that one, it’s up to them,” he told the publication.
The Happy Gilmore star added, “I can’t say a specific, because sadly, there’s been a few.”
The piece comes about six months after Sandler helped celebrate 50 years of Saturday Night Live with a self-written musical number, in which he paid tribute to five decades of “cast members saying, ‘I think our cast is the greatest of all time,’ but we all know the first cast is the best,’” among other things. The stand-up is a core part of SNL‘s legacy, with the show spawning some of his other past iconic compositions such as “The Chanukah Song,” “Red Hooded Sweatshirt” and “The Grandma Song.”
And while Sandler is correct about there being several stars who’ve made antisemitic comments in the past, there is one person who came to many people’s minds while listening to the song: Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The rapper has had a history of spouting anti-Jewish hate speech and supporting Nazis, to the point where even he assumed Sandler was talking about him on SNL50.
“Adam Sandler Thank you for the love,” Ye wrote on X after the song aired.
Shortly afterward, the Yeezy founder also expressed that he’d had a change of heart. “After further reflection I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a Nazi,” he wrote at the time.
Sandler’s performance was just one part of the SNL 50th-anniversary celebrations earlier this year, which featured distinguished alumni returning for a historic live show as well as numerous musicians –such as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and Cher — contributing their talents to an SNL50 concert special. The Grown Ups actor’s nostalgia-filled segment, however, did stand out as a highlight, something he touched on in his interview with Vulture.
“That was just amazing luck that, for where we were in the show, we happened to have a song that had a sweetness to it,” he told the outlet. “When we were onstage, it was the most surreal feeling to look out and see who was there and feeling that energy.”
“The coolest thing about that audience was everybody had the same feeling as you; that show meant something to their life no matter what,” Sandler added. “We were all in that studio, or in that building, and it just brought back so many feelings, so it was easy to come up with ideas and thoughts and jokes and stuff that you knew everybody would click with.”
