Al Franken Remembers Refusing Henry Kissinger Tickets To 'SNL'

Al Franken got the satisfaction of giving Henry Kissinger the kiss-off when he asked for Saturday Night Live tickets back in the 70s.

The former Minnesota senator and comedy writer shared his fondest memory of the late secretary of state on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday night, following news of the diplomats death at 100 years old.

Kissinger called SNL once late on a Friday night looking for tix for his son, Franken wrote. The [Rolling] Stones were playing that week. I told him that if it hadnt been for the Xmas bombing, hed have the tickets.

The comic was snubbing Kissinger over the December 1972 bombings of North Vietnam, which are said to have killed around 1,600 Vietnamese.

Known as Operation Linebacker II, the military campaign inundated the region with 20,000 tons of explosives over the course of 11 days.

At the time, the controversial statesman was U.S. national security adviser under President Richard Nixon.

Kissinger called SNL once late on a Friday night looking for tix for his son. The Stones were playing that week. I told him that if it hadnt been for the Xmas bombing, hed have the tickets.

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Kissinger called SNL once late on a Friday night looking for tix for his son. The Stones were playing that week. I told him that if it hadnt been for the Xmas bombing, hed have the tickets.
Al Franken (@alfranken) November 30, 2023

Frankens minor moment of vengeance wouldnt happen until years later, when the Rolling Stones made their first and only appearance on SNL in October 1978.

Kissinger had been out of the State Department for around two years at that point, following President Gerald Fords Oval Office ouster.

News of Kissingers death reverberated across the world with a mix of reverence and repulsion Wednesday.

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While he was publicly mourned by both former President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, others denounced Kissinger as a war criminal.

Kissinger whose taste for conflict touched Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor, Bangladesh, Latin America and southern Africa is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 3 million people , according to historian Greg Grandin.