Tina Fey Says She Now Sees She 'Was on the Wrong Side' of Certain ‘SNL' Jokes: 'I Was Pretty Dumb'

Tina Fey is reflecting on certain jokes on Saturday Night Live covering heavier current events.

Fey admitted at History Talks on Saturday, April 11, that there were certain jokes during her time on SNL that she was "on the wrong side" of.

"I started there in 1997, and I was there when we had to come back for the first show after September 11 and try to figure out what that show could be," she recalled. "I think I was around but upstairs the day that President Bush came by to meetWill Ferrell. I was there when there was anthrax in the building. The longer I was there, I realized that the show's relationship to current events, it became a thinner and thinner veil."

Fey continued, "They say something, we say something back, they come over, they go, ‘Oh, we want to be on it too.' It's a thrilling and almost scary thing to have this idea that something you say will be heard by person in charge. I mean, I've made jokes, but also, I was pretty dumb and not much better now, but there's jokes that I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, I was on the wrong side of that.'"

Fey also commented on audience perceptions of SNL's influence in politics and current events.

"Sometimes, people will ask me or ask others, ‘Does SNL try to control the narrative and politics?' And they really do not. And also you really can't. If it's not true, it will not be funny," she said.

Fey spoke at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for History Talk's event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary. Fey was joined by stars such as Nicole Kidman, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Colin Jost and more.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 8:42 PM.