Ahead of the presidential election, Vice President Harris’s cameo on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) sparked 70 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from across the nation.
According to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Hill, most of the complaints centered on the claim that Harris’s SNL appearance breached the FCC’s “equal time” rule, which mandates that rival candidates be given equal air time on broadcast networks.
In early November, just days before Election Day, Harris made her debut on the iconic NBC sketch show. She joined Maya Rudolph, who had previously impersonated Harris on the program.
Equal time rule controversy erupts following Vice President Harris’s SNL appearance
During the segment, Harris joked, “I’m just here to remind you, you got this, because you can do something your opponent can’t do — you can open doors,” a reference aimed at her opponent, former President Trump.
Following the airing of the cold open featuring Harris, Brendan Carr, a Republican FCC commissioner appointed by Trump, criticized the segment, arguing that it was a “clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.” Trump had appointed Carr to chair the FCC shortly after his election victory.
The FCC’s “equal time” rule allows competing candidates to request equal television airtime. Many of the complaints referenced this rule while condemning NBC for airing the segment.
One complainant from Austin, Texas, expressed outrage, writing, “I think it’s unconscionable for SNL to have only invited a single candidate onto their show this past Saturday.” They argued that the show demonstrated extreme political bias and failed to provide a platform for other candidates to present their views.
Another viewer from Spring Creek, Nevada, denounced the show, claiming, “What a crock of crap that NBC pulled on the American people. That was a cheap shot by NBC and SNL to try and influence the presidential race,” and called for the network to be “punished for this stunt.”
A viewer from Concord, North Carolina, echoed similar sentiments, stating, “This is no time for propaganda to be allowed in our country,” while a resident of Oklahoma City expressed concern over the violation of the FCC rule, noting that, to their knowledge, no other candidates, including Trump, had been given the same opportunity to appear on SNL.
The Oklahoma City viewer added, “We currently live in a time where many Americans do not trust the election process, and for a network to take action as described above, does nothing but fuel the mistrust in media and our election process.” Many complaints, in fact, called for NBC’s broadcast license to be revoked.
From Del Mar, California, one viewer demanded strict enforcement of FCC rules, warning that failure to do so would lead to continued violations. They stated, “Enough is enough! Enforce your rules to the harshest degree so this won’t happen again,” while another from Fort Worth, Texas, described the situation as a “deliberate act that undermines the principles of fairness and impartiality that are vital to the integrity of our elections.”
In response to the backlash, an NBCUniversal News Group spokesperson did not immediately comment. The following day, NBC News aired a pre-recorded video message from Trump, likely an attempt to balance the airtime.
The clip, which aired near the conclusion of a Sunday night NASCAR playoff race, did not prompt any new complaints to the FCC. Interestingly, no complaints referenced the Trump video, and while many viewers targeted NBC and the FCC, one complaint from Hudson, Florida, went further, suggesting that Harris’s SNL appearance should disqualify her from the presidential race altogether.
“Vice President Harris needs to be disqualified from the presidential election due to her appearance on SNL,” the viewer wrote, adding that all political figures should be held accountable in similar situations, regardless of party affiliation.
