Rob Schneider slams SNL over Kate McKinnon's singing Hillary Clinton bit: 'Don't do this'

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider has some harsh words about Kate McKinnon's post-2016 election cold open.

The Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo star said he knew it was "over" for the sketch comedy series after McKinnon, who parodied Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton throughout the 2016 presidential election cycle, opened the show's first episode back after Donald Trump's win with a somber piano performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" as Clinton.

"I hate to crap on my old show," Schneider told conservative political commentator Glenn Beck on his podcast this week. "I literally prayed, 'Please have a joke at the end. Don't do this. Please don't go down there.'" When "there was no joke at the end," Schneider said, "I went, 'It's over. It's over. It's not going to come back.'"

Taylor Hill/Getty Images; NBC Rob Schneider; Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton on 'Saturday Night Live'

EW has reached out to McKinnon's reps for comment.

Schneider, who began his career as a writer on SNL in 1989 before joining as a cast member between 1990 and 1994, said he believes SNL (and other late-night talk shows in general) are "indoctrinating" viewers. "You can take the comedic indoctrination process happening with each of the late-night hosts, and you could exchange them with each other," he said. "That's how you know it's not interesting anymore."

Earlier this year, McKinnon spoke about bringing the cold open to life, sharing that the election gave her a new perspective on the lyrics.

"I'd always understood 'Hallelujah' in the context of a romantic relationship, as had most of us," the Emmy winner told Esquire. "And then this verse — in this moment when it was so emotional for everyone in the country, when no matter what side you were on, it was a moment of surprise and high-octane emotion — I suddenly understood it in a new light."

She continued, "It's about love, and how love is a slog but it's worth it. I suddenly understood it as, like, the love of this idea that is America. That all people are created equal, and that's the most beautiful idea in the world, but the execution has been long and tough and we're still just trying to get it right. But that it's worth it, and that it will always be worth it."

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