Saturday night live Veteran Tina Fey reflected on her years at the NBC sketch institution and acknowledged that some of her jokes were “on the wrong side.”
Speaking at the History Talks event in Philadelphia, Fey said that over time she realized that not all punchlines were fair.
The two-time Golden Globe winner candidly added, “I was pretty dumb.”
Fey joined SNL in 1997 and later became head writer.
He recalled going through some of the show’s toughest broadcasts, from the first episode after 9/11 to the anthrax scare and even President George W. Bush’s visit to meet with Will Ferrell.
Over time, he said, the line between comedy and current events became thinner, and politicians and public figures often responded directly to the sketches.
One of his most memorable moments came in 2008, when he teamed up with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler to create the now-iconic Sarah Palin sketches.
Fey explained that the team worked hard to make sure their material was “a fair hit,” based on truth and not random hype.
“If it’s not true, it won’t be fun,” he said.
Reflecting on the influence of SNLFey said it was both exciting and intimidating to know that what she wrote could be taken seriously by people in power.
He emphasized that the show never set out to control politics or the national narrative, but admitted that some of his own jokes have not aged well.
Fey appeared alongside Nicole Kidman, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Colin Jost and others at the event, which marked the nation’s 250th anniversary.
