'SNL' triggers backlash after skit mocks Joe Rogan for taking 'horse medicine': 'Lazy mediocre hacks'

NBC's famed comedy sketch show "Saturday Night Live" triggered a tsunami of backlash and mockery on Sunday over a sketch mocking Joe Rogan.

What happened?

The sketch, which aired over the weekend, mocked Rogan from several angles, poking fun of Rogan for taking supplements, being an advocate of psychedelic drugs, and for recently stating that he could perform oral sex on himself — although never actually having done so.

Unfortunately, the skit also claimed that Rogan took "horse medicine," a reference to Rogan taking ivermectin during his bout of COVID-19.

However, Rogan never took horse medicine. Instead, he took the human form of ivermectin, which won the Nobel Prize in 2015. The mainstream media have repeatedly claimed that Rogan ingested animal medicine while blatantly ignoring that ivermectin is made for both humans and animals, in different forms.

"I used to host 'Fear Factor,' and now doctors fear me," comedian Pete Davidson, playing Rogan, said in the skit.

"Can you help me, Joe?" Big Bird asked.

"Oh, sure thing, Big Bird. You see, I took Carlos Mencia down, I can take COVID," the fake Rogan responded. "Here's some zinc, ayahuasca, and some horse medicine."

"Why would a bird take horse medicine?" Big Bird replied.

"I'm a human, and I took horse medicine, and I am speaking of things that are horse-like," the fake Rogan said. "Today's sponsors are the letters 'S' and 'D,' as in I can 'S' my own 'S.'"

What was the reaction?

Comedian Tim Dillon, who is Rogan's friend, fiercely responded, calling the sketch unfunny and lazy.

"There were a hundred ways to do this sketch and have it be funny. The show now is just lazy mediocre hacks," Dillon said.

"This sketch was BAD," Dillion later added. "And not bad because of made fun of Joe or Ivermectin. But it did it in the laziest way possible. It was talking points and not jokes. Comedy shows can have a point of view: mine does. But it should also occasionally have comedy."

Ben Shapiro said the "SNL" skit marked a new low for the show's "unfunniness."

"Every time I think the comedic community has hit the bottom of the comedy barrel, they somehow find a new level of unfunniness," he said.

Other critics pointed out the fact that Rogan's audience dwarfs the audience of "SNL."

In fact, the "SNL" sketch racked up more than 11,000 responses by Monday afternoon, most of them mocking the skit. Even worse, some of the mocking and critical responses themselves racked up thousands of "likes," indicating just how poorly the skit went over.

Rogan has already floated suing CNN for pushing the lie that he took horse medicine. Perhaps Rogan will consider doing the same to NBC.