Horatio Sanz Thinks 'SNL' Is Too Conservative

In my opinion, Horatio Sanz was one of the best members of Saturday Night Live in recent years, which is why it was such a shame to see him go. But maybe Sanz wasn't all that sad to have left Studio 8H. In an update to the book Live From New York by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales,andin an interview with Bill Simmons, Horatio Sanz said he thinks SNL is too conservative. He doesn't think that's where the legendary sketch show — which just celebrated its 40th anniversary — had started. Sanz said that he thinks the show is now too conservative and that it should try to be more anti-establishment than popular.

Though it's had its fair share of snafus that came into light in the past year with regards to their problems with diversity, Saturday Night Live is not usually a show that's called conservative. Many people have accused Lorne Michaels of having a liberal bias, even though he's consistently denied that Saturday Night Live is partisan at all. In fact, many fans noted the absence of former cast members Dennis Miller and Victoria Jackson at the SNL 40 event — Miller and Jackson are both conservatives. Though Miller later denied that Michaels did not extend an invitation to him, Jackson, a Tea Party member, said that she was put into an overflow room at the event, and wondered if Michaels was ashamed of her.

But Sanz words went completely to the opposite end of the spectrum. He even went so far as to say that SNL writer Jim Downey was "the Karl Rove of SNL" (yikes). And it's true that even though Saturday Night Live proposes that it does not have a political agenda (yeah, right), Sanz thinks their portrayal of politicians has may have hurt liberals and helped conservatives. He cited Will Ferrell's endearing performance as George W. Bush as harmful, because it might have given American viewers an image of the president as a harmless, goofy guy.

Sanz also pointed to the recent cold-open where Kate McKinnon lampooned Hilary Clinton and the e-mail scandal, calling it "brutal." And he wasn't the only one with that observation: The Daily Beast said that McKinnon's "deranged, power-mad, wholly insincere" portrayal of Clinton could likely hurt her in the 2016 election (that is, if she decides to run), the same way that Tina Fey's mockery of Sarah Palin all but killed her chances of winning the office.

If Sanz thinks SNL is too conservative, though, his word should be taken seriously, since who better knows the workings of the show besides a former cast member? Whether it's true or not, and whether Lorne Michaels chooses to respond, I do have to agree with him that SNL has made choices to be more popular, rather than addressing their issues with diversity. Either way, it's no secret that the show definitely affects America's impressions of its politicians, and that can be damaging for both conservatives and liberals.

Check out the Hilary Clinton sketch for yourself below:

Image: Getty Images