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It’s times like this when I really, really miss Norm Macdonald.
O.J. Simpson died, his family appeared to announce in a Thursday tweet from Simpson’s account, and if Norm was still alive, he would undoubtedly have something hilarious to say about the star’s passing, like, “at least O.J. can now rest easy knowing his wife’s killer is dead.”
As the host of Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) Weekend Update segment, Macdonald went at Simpson so mercilessly that the show fired him after NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, who was close to Simpson, got fed up with the savagery, according to Rolling Stone.
“He begrudgingly put up with Macdonald’s O.J. jokes during the trial, but he lost his mind when Macdonald kept making references to Simpson in the months that followed. Midway through the 1997-98 season, he fired Macdonald from Weekend Update,” Rolling Stone said in the article, which called Norm’s firing the fourth worst decision in television history. For my money, it’s far and away the worst decision of all time.
After Macdonald’s 1998 firing, SNL went downhill pretty quick. His class of Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Colin Quinn and others was legendary. SNL has undoubtedly seen some other rock stars pass through the halls of 30 Rock, like Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader, but Macdonald’s firing began a backslide that culminated in 2017 when the show went full-woke and became unwatchable in the wake of Trump’s presidency.
After Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of Nicole-Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, Macdonald delivered an iconic joke in a way that only Norm could do. (RELATED: Hollywood Shares Tributes To Norm Macdonald Following News Of His Death)
“Well, it is finally official,” he quipped, pausing for just the perfect amount of time. “Murder is legal in the state of California.”
In remembrance of Macdonald, we’re sharing this 10-minute compilation of his most hilarious O.J. roasts throughout his time at SNL. My personal favorite was this:
“In honor of the 50th anniversary of their first publication, Random House will be releasing special commemorative issues of man Dr. Seuss classics. The first to hit the bookshelves will be Green Eggs And Ham And O.J. Is Guilty.”
Hilarious. Enjoy the rest here.
Norm Macdonald constant shitting on OJ Simpson pic.twitter.com/XdNJWvj6Q7
— Litoshitsaaja (@liupidadie1337) November 22, 2023
Oh, wait. He wasn’t done yet.
Still the best OJ Simpson line
Ken Griffey Jr’s reaction 💀😂 pic.twitter.com/f1UE4LNQT5
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) April 11, 2024