Taking pride in his work. Taran Killam took to his Twitter on Sunday, Mar. 1, to defend his controversial Saturday Night Live sketch, which portrayed Dakota Johnson as an ISIS recruit and him as her sad father.
In her debut SNL hosting gig, Johnson made fun of Fifty Shades of Grey and her famous mom and dad, but the "father daughter ad" — a spoof on Toyota Camry's "My Bold Dad" 2015 Super Bowl spot — attracted criticism from viewers.
Proud of this. Freedom to mock is our greatest weapon. Thanks to the writers who asked not to be mentioned by name. https://t.co/FjdX9xGewX
— taran killam (@TaranKillam) March 1, 2015
In the sketch, Killam played Johnson's emotional father, who was about to drop his teenage daughter off at the airport. As he got emotional about the prospect of his baby girl growing up, a truck filled with armed ISIS gunmen pulled up beside them.
Some fans lashed out against the pre-taped skit, saying it was insensitive, while others, including Whoopi Goldberg, found it to be fine.
On Monday, the comedienne and her fellow co-hosts discussed the ISIS sketch on The View, debating whether or not it was offensive.
"I’ve always felt that the best way to get back at boneheads, like ISIS, is to make them the joke," Goldberg said as the audience applauded.
Her fellow co-host Rosie Perez also noted that historically, satire has been used in similar contexts. "The great Charlie Chaplin did it first," Perez stated, "when he did the movie The Great Dictator where he made fun of Hitler. And, there was an uproar about that."