'Saturday Night Live' ISIS Skit Raises Controversy
— -- A skit on "Saturday Night Live" that parodies a car company ad by having a father see her daughter off to join ISIS has some viewers saying the show crossed the line from edgy to offensive.
The controversial skit, featuring "50 Shades of Grey" star Dakota Johnson, begins with a father dropping his daughter off at the start of her big life adventure -- presumably the armed forces.
"OK, just call when you get there," the dad, played by Taran Killam, says to his daughter, played by Johnson.
The setup is a spoof on Toyota's Super Bowl ad, "My Bold Dad," in which an emotional father drops his daughter off at the airport as she joins the armed forces.
But the "SNL" parody has a twist. Johnson doesn't enter the airport or get on a bus. Instead, a flatbed truck full of bearded armed militants arrives to pick her up.
"You be careful," Killam says.
"Dad, it's just ISIS," Johnson responds.
After Johnson climbs into the the truck. Killam says, "Take care of her."
"Death to America," one militant, played by Kyle Mooney, responds.
The skit drew immediate criticism on Twitter. With some calling it "unfunny," "vile," and in "horrible taste."
"Is ISIS really a subject of humor?" another user asks.
But others defended the skit, including one who wrote: "So the worst people in the world are off limits for ridicule? Bullies need to be criticized and ridiculed. Otherwise they become a normal part of society."
An NBC spokeswoman said the network wasn't commenting.
