Dana Carvey apologizes for raunchy `SNL' skit
Comedian Dana Carvey conceded that not every skit from his “Saturday Night Live” days has aged gracefully, including his “Airport Security Check” sketch starring Sharon Stone.
The six-minute gag aired in April 1992 and starred Carvey as an “Indian man” manning an airport security checkpoint. Carvey wore makeup to darken his face and spoke with an accent as the character, who — along with staffers played by his former “SNL” co-stars — urges Stone to strip down to ensure she isn't concealing any weapons. By the end of the bit, Stone's character is down to her skirt, heels and a bra as several men gawk at her figure.
“I want to apologize publicly for the security check sketch .... It's so 1992, you know, it's from another era,” he told Stone in the Wednesday episode of his “Fly on the Wall” podcast.
David Spade, Carvey's podcast co-host, said the skit was “so offensive.”
Stone said she didn't have any issues with the sketch, looking back on it more than 30 years after it aired, because she “know(s) the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.”
“I think that we were all committing misdemeanors because we didn't think there was something wrong then,” she said. “We didn't have this sense.”
The actor, who hosted “SNL” after starring in “Basic Instinct,” said she wasn't offended by Carvey's skit at the time and “was fine being the butt of the joke.” Decades removed from her “SNL” hosting debut, the “Total Recall” and “Casino” star said she thinks that people don't know how to play with each other anymore and have become too guarded.
Carvey, 68, said he meant “no malice” when playing his “Indian” character, admitting “it was really me rhythmically trying to get laughs.” After apologizing to Stone, he praised her performance.
“You were completely sincere and you made us funny,” Carvey said.
Stone, who said she “blacked out” during her “SNL” debut, said she came to her senses right before the raunchy sketch.
“I usually woke up when people started asking me to take my clothes off,” she said. “You have a tendency to wake up for that.”
Stone has not returned to host “SNL” since her debut, but told Carvey and Spade she “would love to return to Studio 8H.”