Seth Meyers Recalls The Biggest Way He Ever ‘Bombed’ In His Career, And An SNL-Inspired Bit And Chris Rock Were Involved

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In the world of entertainment, comedy is often considered trickier for actors than drama. Once upon a time, a mainstay of NBC comedies had an exceptionally tough night trying to elicit laughter, an event that still resonates vividly more than a decade later in the 2025 TV schedule. Remarkably, Seth Meyers, the current host of Late Night with Seth Meyers and a Saturday Night Live veteran, can recount the incident—involving Chris Rock, Bobby Moynihan, and some legendary musicians—with such clarity that it seems to have left a lasting impact on him.

In recent years, Seth Meyers has plenty to rejoice about professionally. His show, “Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking“, is now streaming and can be accessed with an HBO Max subscription, and the late-night TV format continues to thrive despite doubts expressed by Jimmy Kimmel. However, things might not have seemed so festive for him back in December 2012 when he was still a writer and cast member on SNL. In fact, he discovered that his style of sketch comedy works best on the stages of 30 Rock, as he shared with THR.

My worst performance ever took place at Madison Square Garden, during a concert benefiting Hurricane Sandy. Bill Hader and I were asked to do a Stefon sketch [from Saturday Night Live], but Bill rightfully declined. Then they suggested Bobby Moynihan play Drunk Uncle. We had written something for this, but Chris Rock saw us in costume backstage and said, “You’re following The Who with sketches?!” Our confidence vanished, and true to his words, the audience was furious when we went on stage.

In a nutshell, during the SNL stars’ event, it wasn’t just Chris Rock and The Who who were involved – even though they were already quite prominent figures that could potentially outshine Seth Meyers in his Weekend Update character and Bobby Moynihan as Drunk Uncle. This particular event, 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief, was held at Madison Square Garden back in December 2012, and its primary goal was to gather funds for those affected by the catastrophic Hurricane Sandy.

In this event, musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Kanye West, Roger Waters, along with the surviving members of Nirvana for the first time in almost two decades, joined by Paul McCartney, also had appearances from Billy Crystal, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Rock. However, revisiting the sketch from 2012, it’s understandable why Seth Meyers feels it was his most challenging performance due to its timing and context. It appears that this particular instance may not have been ideal for a comedy sketch.

In a rather amusing turn of events, Jamie Foxx was also part of the THR interview, yet he couldn’t seem to recall attending the event beyond remembering The Who’s performance. Meyers chuckled and jokingly commented, “The Who, Arcade Fire… it’s strange that you don’t remember us.” Looking back from 2025, it’s clear this was all good-natured banter. However, I can see why Meyers praised Bill Hader for not playing Stefon in this situation.

Despite over a decade at SNL and one less-than-successful event, Meyers has consistently climbed higher since what he considered his worst performance ever. Remarkably, Meyers extended his contract with NBC until 2028, even amidst network reductions in shows like Late Night and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Fortunately, the controversial sketch that didn’t go as planned is now ancient history for most viewers, unless Meyers or Bobby Moynihan choose to bring it up again.

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2025-06-26 09:07