John Mulaney says the Secret Service investigated him after SNL joke
Live from New York, it's ... a Secret Service investigation?
Comedian John Mulaney revealed this week he was investigated by the Secret Service after a joke he made during his February Saturday Night Live monologue.
Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Mulaney explained that the Secret Service "investigated me" after he joked on SNL about how Julius Caesar was "such a powerful maniac that all the senators grabbed knives and they stabbed him to death" and cracked, "That'd be an interesting thing if we brought that back now."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I guess they opened a file on me because of the joke," Mulaney said. "I have to say, am I stoked there's a file open on me? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it in the moment? Not so much."
Mulaney went on to explain that the Secret Service person he spoke with was "very understanding" that the "joke had nothing to do with Donald Trump." Ultimately, Mulaney says he was "cleared," though only after being asked whether there's "anything else we should know about," including whether he has any "rants" or "manifestos" about President Trump online. The answer was no, though if the Secret Service ever wants to dive into his explanations of why Trump is like a great Family Feud contestant or a horse loose in a hospital, YouTube's always there. Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The controversial Free Birth SocietyThe Explainer Influencers are encouraging pregnant women to give birth without midwife care – at potentially tragic cost
-
Wes Anderson: The Archives – ‘quirkfest’ celebrates the director’s ‘impeccable craft’The Week Recommends Retrospective at the Design Museum showcases 700 props, costumes and set designs from the filmmaker’s three-decade career
-
Is conscription the answer to Europe’s security woes?Today's Big Question How best to boost troop numbers to deal with Russian threat is ‘prompting fierce and soul-searching debates’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
