Damon Wayans opens up about why he was fired 'on purpose' saturday night live He made a brief appearance on NBC in the 1980s.

The actor and comedian appears in the Peacock documentary series SNL50: Beyond Saturday Nighthe reflects on his time on the sketch comedy series and his departure. He is " saturday night live During Season 11 in 1985.

Wayans said he researched the role before auditioning because he felt he was "born to be an actor." saturday night live". He also recalled some advice he received from Eddie Murphy (who also worked on saturday night live in the early 1980s) simultaneously appeared in beverly hills cop 1984.

"Eddie's advice to me was, 'Write your own sketch. Otherwise, they're going to give you some black person trouble and you're not going to like it,'" Wayans said.

Wayans said that once he was cast, he quickly realized, "Everything Eddie said was coming true." He recalled trying to pitch characters and sketches to saturday night live writers, "but they would shoot down my ideas." He added, "They started writing me in sketches."

Wayans said they would also offer him some stereotypical or offensive roles, but he recalled sometimes turning them down: "My reaction was, 'Oh my gosh, no.'" I said, 'Listen, my mom would Watch this show. I can't do this. I won't do it. '"

But Wayans’ frustration eventually reached a breaking point in a sketch titled “Mr. monopoly. ” He recalled that this piece was chosen over one of his sketches, which again was cut.

That's when he made a last-minute decision to do a different stereotype for the live sketch, which ultimately got him fired.

"Damon started delivering his lines like a very effeminate gay man," Jon Lovitz, former saturday night live the screenwriter and actor recalled. The episode's guest host Griffin Dunne added: "I thought it was weird, but people laughed. And then Lorne fired him as he walked off the stage."

Wayans admitted, "I snapped. I just didn't care. ... I did it on purpose because I wanted him (saturday night live The founder, Lorne Michaels, fired me. "

In an old interview clip from the docuseries, Michaels explained: "It was really, really hard not to fire anyone for the first five years. But it had to be done."

Wayans basically "pushed the envelope" (saturday night live) golden rule, it’s no surprise,” according to Live from New York By James Andrew Miller. Former writer A. Whitney Brown added: "You can't go rogue. You can't try to steal a sketch."

After a stint on NBC's sketch comedy series, the comedian went on to find success in several comedy films, such as Mo Qian and Major Paynewait. Later he also appeared in sketch programs Bright colorswhich ran from 1990-94.

Wayans returns to host saturday night live In 1995, nine years after he was fired.