Why Norm Macdonald Refused to ‘Bend the Knee’ to Power

The Daily Beast/Getty Long before Stephen Colbert got kicked to the curb by a TV network that caved to power, comedian Norm Macdonald faced a very similar fate.

Legendary producer Judd Apatow, 58, explores Macdonald’s career and rebellion in his new Netflix documentary, Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald , premiering Oct.

16.

The documentary explores NBC bigwig Don Ohlmeyer firing the Saturday Night Live icon from anchoring “Weekend Update” in 1997 because he claimed Macdonald wasn’t funny .

The real reason was Macdonald’s relentless mockery of Ohlmeyer’s close friend, O.J.

Simpson .

Watch the full interview with Judd Apatow on YouTube: “Norm was there during the O.J.

Simpson years,” Apatow told Obsessed: The Podcast .

“Norm went at him very hard.

He did not hold back.

And he was ultimately fired from ‘Weekend Update’ because they asked him to ease up on all of the O.J .jokes because Don Olmeyer, the head of the network, was best friends with O.J.

Norm and [ SNL writer] James Downey, who ran ‘Update’ at that time—they just went harder.

Ultimately, they did say, ‘You can’t do Update.’” Apatow sees the whole affair as a precursor to what’s happening at television networks now as media executives cave to MAGA and fire their biggest stars.

CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ahead of its parent company’s merger with Trumpy billionaire David Ellison ’s Skydance.