Turns Out Samuel L. Jackson Isn't Banned From SNL After All

Samuel L. Jackson is actually not banned from SNL, it turns out, despite Jackson himself starting the rumor in March.

"Kenan got me banned from Saturday Night Live," Jackson told Leslie Jones, who was guest-hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show at the time. Jackson recalled that during a 2012 "What Up With That?" sketch, Kenan Thompson didn't cut him off quickly enough, and he mistakenly uttered the F-word on live TV. As a result, he claimed, he was blacklisted from the show.

But on Tuesday's episode of Entertainment Weekly's The Awardist podcast, the actor cleared things up for fans. Jackson describes being in New York doing press for The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey when he ran into SNL boss Lorne Michaels on an elevator.

"So, are you ever gonna let me back on the show?" he asked Michaels, who failed to recognize him with a mask on. When Jackson pulled his down, Michaels responded, "You're not banned!" The two went back and forth on the topic — "Yes, I am!" said Jackson, as Michaels insisted, "No, you're not!" — until they achieved some sort of resolution.

"So, maybe I'm not," Jackson told EW's listeners. "I don't know."

What rumor will Jackson start about himself next?

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Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.