Live from New York, it’s not Samuel L. Jackson.
The prolific actor says Kenan Thompson is the reason he no longer appears on the legendary late-night show.
“Kenan loves you,” Leslie Jones told Jackson when she guest-hosted Friday’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” “We both love you.”
Jackson and Thompson co-starred in the 2006 cult classic “Snakes on a Plane,” and Jackson said Thompson was “hilarious.” However, Jackson added Thompson had a previous blunder that might have led to the end of the actor's relationship with “SNL” after Jackson appeared to say the F-word in a 2012 sketch.
During that appearance, he played himself in “What’s Up with That?” — a recurring sketch in which Thompson plays a talk show host with a penchant for breaking into song.
“Kenan got me banned from ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Jackson joked.
“Yes, he did!” Jones agreed.
“He didn’t cut me off soon enough, and I said the forbidden word on television,” he said, while Jones howled with laughter. “He was supposed to cut me off!”
“He was supposed to, out there,” Jones said. “That’s what I told him, I was like, ‘If Sam was about to curse, you’re supposed to cut him off. You know that’s how we do it.’”
“He didn’t,” Jackson said.
“He didn’t? Then I’m going to talk to him about that,” Jones said.
“Thank you very much,” the “Pulp Fiction” star said.
“I will scold him on that. Don’t nobody do Samuel like that,” Jones said.
Jackson, whom prior to this week's talk show appearance had claimed Thompson was supposed to interrupt him, said he’s been on two episodes of "SNL."
“I hosted the show once, did one guest appearance,” he said, while motioning to his neck to indicate he was cut off.
In addition to the 2012 episode, he also hosted “SNL” in 1998.