How Madonna caused “long-lasting damage” to ‘Saturday Night Live’: “An albatross for us”

Posted On August 11, 2025August 11, 2025

Based on how many terrible one-and-done hosts have passed through Saturday Night Live without causing any long-lasting or irreparable damage to the show, something must have gone seriously wrong for Madonna to leave the TV staple on the brink.

If SNL can survive the horrendous hosting skills of Steven Seagal, Adrien Brody, Milton Berle, Chevy Chase, or any of the other guests who left a bad taste in the mouths of cast members, the crew, and audiences, then surely the long-running series is capable of withstanding anything.

That appears to be true, considering SNL recently celebrated 50 years on the air, but those who worked on the show were genuinely concerned for its future after the ‘Queen of Pop’ took centre stage for her first, and last, stint as compere on November 9th, 1985.

The season 11 premiere was crucial in more ways than one, and with the benefit of hindsight, it was one everybody wanted to forget. After a huge cast turnover, SNL introduced newcomers like Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Michael Hall, and Damon Wayans as full-timers, and it’s not too harsh to say that year’s roster is arguably the weakest in history.

As one of music’s biggest stars, Madonna would at least guarantee an audience, even if staff writer James Downey doesn’t exactly recall the episode fondly. “It was an offensive, dreadful show,” he said. “I don’t know how many shows there’ve been, more than 500. I would say the Madonna show has got to be considered one of the top five, I mean in an entirely negative way.”

Nothing seemed to work, with Sweeney believing that “it really cripped the season from the get-go,” and it had a detrimental effect on SNL‘s popularity. “That first show was like an albatross for us,” he recalled. “Years later, people would still say, ‘I haven’t watched the show since that Madonna thing.’ It did so much long-lasting damage.”

By the end of the season, Sweeney revealed that ratings had plummeted by almost 50%, which he largely attributed to a combination of people being “anxious to see that new group of actors fail” and Madonna’s less-than-impeccable hosting skills. While he’s entitled to his opinion, as harsh as it was, he was backed up by fellow scribe Jack Handey.

He recalled the Madonna-hosted episode being “considered in bad taste,” being “viciously attacked” by critics, which caused the ratings to drop. “We were actually worried,” he confessed. “That was one year, I think, that people wondered whether the show was going to get cancelled.” Of course, that didn’t happen, but Madge genuinely had people worried that she’d accidentally sealed SNL‘s fate by getting the 11th season off to the worst possible start.

Was it really that bad? Well, there were clear and obvious nerves from the raft of debuting cast members, Madonna looked entirely out of her element, and barely any of the sketches landed with either the live audiences or those at home. She wasn’t completely exiled, though, returning as a musical guest in January 1993 and making repeated cameos in the years to follow, but she wasn’t asked to host ever again.

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