John Mulaney Says He Was Investigated by Secret Service After ‘SNL’ Joke

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/john-mulaney-secret-service-1234844207/

During an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, the comedian — who got his start as a writer on “SNL” — mentioned that he received backlash for a joke that was, at most, circuitously in reference to the sitting U.S. President, Donald Trump, earning him a probe from the Secret Service.

“In February, I did a joke that was not about Donald Trump,” Mulaney said. “The joke was about how it was a leap year, and leap year had been started by Julius Caesar to correct the calendar, and another thing that happened with Caesar was that he was stabbed to death by a bunch of senators because he went crazy. And I said I think that’s an interesting thing that could happen.”

“The person vetting me was very understanding that the joke had nothing to do with Donald Trump because it was an elliptical reference to him,” he said. “I didn’t say anything about him. In terms of risk assessment, no one who’s ever looked at me thought I registered above a one.”