Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg’s hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch, “Dick In A Box,” almost never made it to air after the FCC intervened. The singer sat down with Hot Ones host Sean Evans on Thursday for the finale of the Youtube series’ eleventh season. The two of them dug into some spicy wings and discussed JT’s long career, which has included five hosting gigs on SNL. JT has been a fan favourite SNL host due to his natural charm and charisma, as well as his impeccable comedic timing and good chemistry with some of the sketch show’s cast members, particularly Andy Samberg. Justin and Andy, along with the comedian’s Lonely Island group, appeared in several musical sketches together on SNL, but one that definitely stands out is the absurdly ridiculous, “Dick In A Box.” During his visit to the Hot Ones table (likely filmed prior to the coronavirus pandemic), Justin shared a never-before-told story about the making of “Dick In A Box,” and one particular obstacle they faced.
JT reveals that it was SNL creator Lorne Micheals’ idea for Justin and Andy to do a pre-recorded sketch together, and he notes that they “hit it off immediately.” They decided to play two friends stuck in another era, donning silk suits, Herringbone chains, and carefully coiffed facial hair. An SNL writer came up with the idea to pull the popcorn prank seen in the sketch, which Justin thought was “super creepy.” However, they came to realize that the move was “super appropriate for two guys who are are super misled about what’s appropriate.” From that point on, the concept was born.
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However, after filming the video “all day” on Friday until 3:00am on Saturday morning, they were confronted by the FCC about their use of obscene language. “They said, “You can’t say ‘dick’ on the air,'” Justin explained. “And we were like, ‘Oh, right.'” Thankfully, they worked it out with the FCC, and they were able to air the sketch after bleeping out all 16 uses of the word “dick” in the song. “The irony of that,” Justin said, “is that bleeped-out version I think is the funnier version.” Catch his full Hot Ones interview below:
