When was R. Kelly on SNL? His lawyer calls out the show over “problematic guest” tribute

Amidst SNL’s 50th anniversary celebration, the singer R. Kelly's many controversial bits on a Saturday Night Live episode are now making the headlines. The R&B singer was included in an “In Memoriam” segment on Saturday Night Live’s 50th-anniversary special.

This segment was intended to call out controversial and “problematic” guests who’ve appeared on the show throughout the years. R. Kelly's inclusion has resulted in backlash from his lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, who criticized the show's decision.

R. Kelly performed on Saturday Night Live in 2013, where he joined Lady Gaga to perform their collaboration Do What U Want from Gaga’s album ARTPOP. According to Hot New Hip-hop, the performance itself was remembered for the provocative choreography, with Kelly and Gaga simulating se*ual acts on stage.

Lady Gaga, who performed during the SNL 50th-anniversary celebrations, has spoken out publicly against Kelly in the past after his legal troubles.

In 2019, she said she regretted working with him, writing on Instagram that she would never do so again and apologizing for her previous choices.

R. Kelly’s defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean criticized SNL for how they depicted Kelly. In an interview with TMZ, she described the show’s decision as “arrogant,” in part because it suggested producers had a retroactive say on who deserves to be “canceled.” Bonjean also noted that other controversial celebrities were skipped on the segment but did not specify who they were.

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SNL's controversial tribute to R. Kelly, Diddy, O.J. Simpson, and others

Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with a daring recognition of its own troubled legacy, showcasing offensive sketches and controversial guests.

Hosted by Tom Hanks, the special featured an “In Memoriam” segment that cheerfully said goodbye to characters, sketches, and moments that have not aged so well.

The series of clips reflected many kinds of wrongdoings, including ethnic stereotypes like John Belushi’s Samurai Futaba and Rob Schneider’s Mexican caricature. Sketches of underage sexual harassment, including a 2004 one in which a young Lindsay Lohan was objectified.

Other categories considered body-shaming skits, such as Chris Farley’s horrifying Chippendales audition, slut-shaming in Dan Aykroyd’s infamous line to Jane Curtin, and examples of gay panic, ableism, and sexism, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Adrien Brody’s Jamaican accent, Mike Myers’ bath scene with Macaulay Culkin, and blurry photos of celebrities in racially inappropriate makeup were also called out. The segment ended with a list of problematic guests, including O.J. Simpson, Jared Fogle, Robert Blake, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and R. Kelly.