Alec Baldwin responds to Rob Schneider's SNL criticism: 'They must be doing something right'
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Alec Baldwin has come to the defense of Saturday Night Live after alum Rob Schneider recently ripped the show.
In an Instagram video posted Thursday, the 17-time SNL host remarked that it "must be an incredibly slow news cycle if we're talking about Rob Schneider's thoughts about Kate McKinnon playing Hillary Clinton so many years ago." While Baldwin said he finds Schneider "very, very funny" and noted that he had a "great run" on the show, he also offered an observation.
"You've got to be careful when you criticize people for their judgment," Baldwin said. "And you turn around and pause for a moment and realize, well that judgment of theirs led them to hire you once upon a time." Baldwin, who frequently portrayed Donald Trump on SNL from 2016 to 2020, also called the former president a "maniac" and said Hollywood must be tough for outspoken conservatives like Schneider.
"I hear that these conservatives say that there's a bias against them, and I think that's unfortunate," Baldwin said. "There's people that I know, and I won't name them, who are conservatives, who are arch-conservatives… Trump is the only president in our country's history who has served as president and was unchanged by the process. It must be tough for the Rob Schneiders of the world. It must be tough that your man is a maniac."
Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images; Bobby Bank/WireImage Alec Baldwin and Rob Schneider
Baldwin's remarks came after Schneider said in an interview with conservative pundit Glenn Beck this week that he knew it was "over" for SNL after McKinnon performed a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" as Hillary Clinton in the wake of the 2016 election. "I went, 'It's over. It's over. It's not going to come back,'" the Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo star said.
In his Instagram video, Baldwin also said he agreed with Schneider's criticisms about his Trump impression. "I made him [Trump] cartoon," he explained. "I wanted to take him to another level of madness." Baldwin then acknowledged that not all SNL episodes may be good, which is the case with many pieces of work: "SNL is a live TV show… It's not easy."
He added, "I divide the episodes of SNL the way I divide everything else. You look at an actor's career, you look at a director's career… I divide it into thirds: A third of it's good, a third of it's so-so, and a third of it's not very good. And a third of the episodes of SNL have been good, and a third of them so-so, and a third not so good."
Baldwin then noted, "In a couple more years, they're going to be doing their 50th season, so they must be doing something right. Of course, I love Lorne [Michaels, the creator of SNL]. I love the institution that is SNL. I've had a lot of fun with them."
SNL concluded its 47th season in May. EW reported Thursday that cast members Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat, and Aristotle Athari have departed the show ahead of season 48.
Watch Baldwin's video above.
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