Vice President Harris’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live” just days ahead of the presidential election drew 70 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) complaints from across the country.
The vast majority of the objections lodged at the FCC included complaints that Harris’s “SNL” cameo violated the agency’s “equal time” rule, according to records obtained by The Hill on Wednesday as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
Harris made her debut on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show in early November, just three days before Election Day. The then-Democratic presidential nominee appeared alongside Maya Rudolph, who has long impersonated Harris on the late-night program.
“I’m just here to remind you, you got this, because you can do something your opponent can’t do — you can open doors,” Harris told Rudolph, in a knock at her opponent in the White House race, former President Trump.
Shortly after “SNL’s” cold open featuring Harris, Brendan Carr, a senior Republican FCC commissioner appointed by Trump, claimed that the appearance was a “clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.” Earlier this week and following his election victory, Trump tapped Carr to chair the FCC.
The “equal time” rules from the FCC allow rival candidates to request equal air time.
Viewers who filed complaints with the FCC widely referenced the rule, while condemning NBC for the move.
“I think it’s unconscionable for SNL to have only invited a single candidate onto their show this past Saturday,” a viewer from Austin, Texas, wrote. “It shows an extreme political bias and does not offer any other candidate the same opportunity to deliver their message.”
“What a crock of crap that NBC pulled on the American people. That was a cheap shot by NBC and SNL to try and influence the presidential race,” another viewer from Spring Creek, Nev., wrote, adding that the network “should be punished for this stunt.”
“This is no time for propaganda to be allowed in our country,” a viewer from Concord, N.C., said in a letter to the FCC.
Another Oklahoma City, Okla., viewer wrote that while they “don’t really have a dog in this fight” and typically vote Libertarian, “NBC’s allowing of their program ‘Saturday Night Live’ to have Vice President Harris appear in the opening of their weekly program I believe constitutes a violation of the FCC equal time rule.”
Other candidates, including Trump, the viewer said, “to my knowledge we’re not even offered to appear in the aforementioned sketch show.”
“We currently live in a time where many Americans do not trust the election process and for a network to take action as described above, does nothing but fuel the mistrust in media and our election process,” the viewer from the Sooner State said.
Many of the grievances urged the FCC to revoke NBC’s broadcast license.
“Enough is enough! Enforce your rules to the harshest degree so this won’t happen again. You will find the same programs breaking the law again and again if they are not held to the standards of the law,” a Del Mar, Calif., viewer wrote.
“This situation is not merely an oversight; it is a deliberate act that undermines the principles of fairness and impartiality that are vital to the integrity of our elections,” one message to the FCC from Fort Worth, Texas, wrote. “The public airwaves belong to the people, and it is unacceptable for a major network to manipulate the political landscape to serve the interests of one candidate over others,” they added.
A NBCUniversal News Group spokesperson didn’t immediately return ITK’s request for comment.
A day after Harris’s “SNL” appearance, NBC News aired a short video message from Trump in an apparent effort to provide him with equal airtime. The recorded clip from Trump was played near the end of a Sunday night NASCAR playoff race.
None of the complaints to the FCC, some of which were filed following Trump’s video message, referenced the video from the 45th president.
While most of the viewers directed their complaints towards NBC and the FCC, one Hudson, Fla., TV watcher said Harris’s “SNL” debut should have had her barred altogether from the White House race.
“Vice President Harris needs to be disqualified from the presidential election due to her appearance on SNL,” the viewer wrote.
“She needs to be held accountable so no one can try to do it again in the future. Political affiliation does not matter in this instance, all should be held accountable.”
—Bob Cusack contributed.
