As amazing as it sounds, Fifty Shades of Grey wasn’t the most controversial part of Dakota Johnson‘s stint hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend.
No, the most polarizing sketch in the show was a disturbing spoof of Toyota’s “My Bold Dad” Super Bowl ad.
In the sketch, Taran Killam plays an emotional dad dropping his daughter (Johnson) off at the airport, where she’s set to head off on a life-changing journey. But Johnson isn’t going to school abroad or joining the Army. She’s joining a group of a much different caliber.
The fake ad’s tagline: “ISIS. We’ll take it from here, Dad.”
Has SNL gone too far with a sketch lampooning ISIS? Some viewers thought so.
Dear #SNL, jokes about Isis are not funny. See how much you laugh when you have to see your loved one(s) being slaughtered. No respect.
— Chasity (@RugratChas) March 1, 2015
I’m going to go ahead and voice my opinion on the #SNL ISIS skit. Absolutely hell no, under any circumstance. Poor poor taste!
— Matthew Lyle (@mlyle2) March 1, 2015
3 young girls are somewhere in Syria tonight because they got mesmerised by ISIS, family is sick with worry and you do this? #SNL #shame
— 𝓢𝓾𝓮🇮🇲🇨🇦 #ASDmum🧩 #AdOpTiOn @GoodDoctorK_S (@manxie809) March 1, 2015
#SNL is gonna catch a ton of heat for that ISIS sketch. I’m an SNL fan, but idk about that one. May be a bit soon
— D.Lee (@DL_Blackburn) March 1, 2015
To these and other viewers, SNL was making light of a terrorist organization that has killed prisoners, convinced young girls to run away to become brides, and led people to risk everything (and break the law) by trying to join them. ISIS is now even threatening Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for suspending ISIS-related Twitter accounts.
On the other hand, SNL (like Japan) was openly mocking ISIS and in turn undermining the group’s message. It’s probably one of the more scathing sketches SNL has done in recent memory, and some people simply found it to be hilarious.
Seeing #SNL took some shots at ISIS tonight. About time somebody did.
— Joseph Goodman, Sports Enthusiast 🎟🍺 (@JoeGoodmanJr) March 1, 2015
Seriously? SNL is being criticized for mocking Isis, and the people who join it? There’s no group more deserving of ridicule. Thumbs up #SNL
— Katherine Morrison (@kmorrison) March 1, 2015
People are honestly offended by the ISIS #SNL sketch? If you’ve been a long time fan & you’re not familiar with satire – turn off your tv.
— Annie Hall N. Oates (@Noyes_Noise) March 1, 2015
ISIS: We’ll take it from here dad! #snl #hilarious
— Arsenio Hall (@ArsenioHall) March 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/kylemaxwell/status/571893356126601216
SNL isn’t apologizing for the sketch; it’s still on YouTube, where it has been viewed more than 560,000 times. Based on the like-to-dislike ratio, the satire defense seems to be winning the debate.
Screengrab via Saturday Night Live/YouTube
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