In a revealing interview for Peacock's docuseries "SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night," comedian Damon Wayans opened up about the controversial 1986 sketch that led to his dismissal from Saturday Night Live.
During the show's eleventh season, Wayans deliberately went off-script in the "Mr. Monopoly" sketch, playing his police officer character as an exaggerated gay stereotype – a decision that resulted in his immediate firing by producer Lorne Michaels.
"I snapped. I just did not care," Wayans admitted in the interview. "I purposefully did that because I wanted [Michaels] to fire me."
The incident came after mounting frustrations over the type of roles Wayans was being offered. Despite having characters developed that would later become successful on "In Living Color," Wayans found his creative input repeatedly rejected at SNL.
Former SNL cast member Eddie Murphy had warned Wayans about potential typecasting, advising him to "Write your own sketches. Otherwise, they're gonna give you some Black people s*** to do, and you ain't gonna like it."
The prediction proved accurate, as Wayans frequently found himself fighting against stereotypical roles. "Everything Eddie said came true," Wayans recalled. "I said, 'Listen, my mother's gonna watch this show. I can't do this. I won't do this.'"
While the firing could have derailed his career, it instead led Wayans to greater success. He went on to create and star in the groundbreaking sketch show "In Living Color" and appeared in numerous successful films and television series.
The story had a reconciliatory ending, as Michaels invited Wayans back to perform stand-up in that season's finale and later to host the show in 1995. "Lorne is a very forgiving man," Wayans reflected, "and I think he just wanted to let me know that he believed in me."