How One FCC Rule May Have Saved SNL From A Big Fine Over That ‘Men Ain’t S—t’ Moment

Saturday Night Live has certainly played host to some truly wild moments over the course of its 50-year-run. Over a week ago, for example, many were flabbergasted when SNL 50 musical guest Morgan Wallen abruptly left the stage at the end of the show. That ultimately didn't hold a candle to what happened on the latest episode, though, as it saw audience members yelling an obscenity in unison during a segment. Some may assume the show will be fined, but it seems an FCC rule may allow it to dodge such disciplinary action.

It was during Weekend Update that the profanity-infused moment, which has since gone viral, occurred. Cast member Ego Nwodim appeared in front of the anchor desk as part of a bit that saw her making a case to become the host of The White House Correspondents Dinner. While her faux set mostly included corny political and food-based jokes, she eventually joked about filibusters, saying she’s personally had her “fill of busters,” before turning the mic to the crowd and saying, “These men ain’t what?” They responded, “Shit!”

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Ego Nwodim, Colin Jost and Michael Che all seemed genuinely shocked by the crowd’s declaration, with Nwodim even quipping, “We’re finna get fined for that!” The Federal Communications Commission has strict guidelines about obscene language being used on TV, especially on networks. However, via Deadline, due to the FCC’s rule on timeframes for such content, SNL may not face a penalty. The guidelines read as follows:

As part of the 2025 TV schedule, Saturday Night Live airs at 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT. So that would technically take the show out of the restricted period of time for inappropriate content. As for the delayed West Coast and Mountain airings, the expletives from the crowd were bleeped out. Episodes of SNL are also available to stream live via a Peacock subscription, and the FCC technically doesn’t mention streamers in this context.

Talk about getting by by the skin of your teeth. Should nothing come of this, producer Lorne Michaels and co. should consider themselves lucky. It’s worth mentioning that this also isn’t the first time that the long-running sketch comedy show and the FCC have been mentioned in the same breath. Years ago, the agency consulted the show on “Dick in a Box,” before the Lonely Island’s song debuted. And, in 2024, it was also argued that former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ cameo on the show was used as a way to avoid the FCC's Equal Time rule. As a result, now-President Donald Trump was granted an election spot on NBC during Super Bowl Sunday.

Aside from the legal ramifications for this latest Saturday Night Live segment, it actually seems to have been well received by fans. The moment went viral shortly after it happened, with many particularly making note of the genuine shock from the cast members that were on camera. Honestly, considering this is the show’s anniversary season, it almost feels fitting that something so wild would happen this year. Check it out for yourself below:

We’ll have to wait and see whether the FCC does end up issuing any kind of response to the “men ain’t shit” moment. Despite that, what I think we can all agree on right now is that this will surely go down as one of SNL’s most infamous moments.