Sylvester Stallone Asked 'SNL' to Stop Featuring Frank Stallone Jokes: 'Just Lay Off For a While'

Saturday Night Livehas long been known for its sharp-edged comedy, whether mocking past and current presidential administrations or caricaturing some of the biggest celebrities of the day and age.

For its often hilarious satirical treatment of these respective subjects, the series has occasionally come under fire for its insensitive treatment of certain well-known media personalities, as happened to be the case for NBC's hit sketch comedy series in the 1990s.

According to Cracked.com, one recurring joke on SNL's Weekend Update specifically rubbed action star Sylvester Stallone the wrong way.

As some viewers might remember, a recurring joke on Norm Macdonald's tenure on Weekend Update saw the famously dry-witted comedian attribute a variety of strange or unexplainable news stories to Sylvester Stallone's younger brother, Frank.

While blaming the younger Stallone for high unemployment rates or a sudden deluge of toxic waste, Macdonald would cap off these stories with the blunt punchline of who was responsible: "You guessed it - Frank Stallone."

Upon hosting the series in 1997, Sylvester Stallone promptly decided to have a word with Macdonald behind the scenes, asking the beloved comedian right off the bat, "What the f**k with Frank?"

Responding to Sly's inquiry, Macdonald quickly said that he didn't mean any offense by the jokes or their relationship to Frank, specifically pointing out that the humor of the joke lay behind its surreal delivery.

"It's a complete non-sequitur," Macdonald told Stallone. "It's ridiculous."

As understanding as Stallone was, he also asked Macdonald to consider Frank's current personal circumstances, not wanting to cause his younger brother any further harm by unwanted public attention..

"The thing with Frank is, after Rocky, he decided to become a boxer," Stallone explained. "He'd go in the ring. It would say, like, ‘The Italian Stallion's Brother.' Every boxer in Philadelphia just beat the s**t out of him."

"He's never been right since, and I feel guilty about it," the Rambo star further explained to Macdonald. "If you could just lay off him for a while…"

In the end, Macdonald agreed, ending the Frank Stallone jokes for good on SNL's Weekend Update.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 6:41 AM.