Last week, new “Saturday Night Live” cast member Jenny Slate said the F-word in a sketch on live television.
Watch her expression right after she says it in the video at this link.
Dr. Paul Ekman gave his analysis from viewing this video: “The long delay after she says the word and before she makes the face suggests the word and the face were probably planned and rehearsed.”
What do you think? Was it an accident or intentional?
garrettp
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:16 am
Does the fact that it was something that occurred in a rehearsed skit change the analysis? Or that maybe it was live television and the mistake may not have been noticed by the actor immediately. I have heard that actors often have a dual track going on in their minds while on stage. They say the lines but are able to go over their grocery list, as an example. Live TV may mean that the actors attention is more focused on hitting marks and being aware of the cameras than on what the lines are. And does the idea of the skit affect the doctor’s thoughts, the whole “joke” was that the biker chicks would be using the “F” word as a noun, verb, and adjective. They substituted the work “freaking” for the “F” word. That was the whole premise of the skit. I would expect that this kind of slip of the toungue could happen if you were trying to be conscious of not saying a word that you are saying already in a FCC approved euphemism.
Chad Alan
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 am
I would, normally, say that the Doctor, being a doctor, is correct. However, the expression was not an involuntary micro-expression but a genuine, whoops expression. And, as an actor, you are trained that if you make a mistake you are to do nothing, because it draws attention to your gaff. I would say it was accidental. I have used character voices for a long time, and sometimes the character will say things before you have the chance to filter. I’ve said fuck in front of school kids, old people, at work in front of clients. Sometimes it just pops out if you are someone that uses explicatives quite a lot. Sorry, Doc. Nice try, but someone that’s trained to portray emotions of others while suppressing their own personal emotions, would be hard to read, no?
i think it was intentional… wasnt a reaction that you would expect. plus delayed.
I agree with Dr Ekman. At first and for a split second I thought, “Hold on, is that fake?” Then I shrugged it off and didn’t think that much of it, and sort of believed it out of kindness… Then I read what Dr Ekman wrote and saw it again. Now I realise I’m not as good as I thought at detecting lies. Too trusting? Maybe.
Anyways, she wanted to look as if it was not intentional. Plus, her colleague did not react to that. She must have heard it soooo many times in rehearsal.
DEFINITE LIE!
Totally rehearsed!
Jennifer Rice
October 5th, 2009 at 6:49 am
This was planned I believe as Dr.Ekman says. I agree about the delay. She also didn’t seem generally shocked by what she said.
Heartshine
October 5th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I think that the swear word was an accident! It did not look planned to me at all, I thought she looked a little embarrassed. That word comes out easily and often in some people’s normal speach when they’re not on TV, it seemed like she was just talking like normal, and beefing it up for the part, and she realized her mistake a second too late.
Carlos Becerra Venezuela
October 6th, 2009 at 5:05 am
For me seems like an accident, looks like she wants to stop the words comming out of her mouth, with a bit of shame or surprise also
Robert
October 7th, 2009 at 8:20 am
What I noticed was the lack of emotion to the f-bomb, by both actress’. I did see the lips pull together after about 1 sec but, I noticed that when someone “want to hold the words back” The lips are more pulled in than scrunched together like hers were.
It’s the lack of eye and eyebrow movement that leads me to believe that they were not surprised it happened. One could then assume it was planned or rehearsed.
There are many factors that one has to look at before coming to a conclusion. One main factor is that she is an actor and is trained to keep going no matter what occurs. At the same time it takes the brain some milliseconds of realization what was said. I believe that she was saying it in her mind and when the words came out of her mouth she could not believe that she said it on live TV. So, no i dont believe that it was on purpose but i do believe that the words were played in her mind before she said them.
Daniel U.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
It was a whoops, she continued on with the skit but her eyes clearly glanced up and over to where id imagine the director or producer was. I’m guessing to gauge his reaction to her screw up to see how bad it was.
I think the delay is her processing what she said then realizing what she said and where she said it then PUFF
Matthew
October 11th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
What I saw looked like fear in her eyes after she said it. Like, Oh My God! These are trained actors and when one screws up the others are going to cover up very quickly, so you would not expect to see a reaction from the other performer. I think it was an accident. Slow it down and see how the eyebrows and the area around her eyes change and her eye lids. Fear.
1. Lack of shock from both the actress.
2. The other actress is smiling a bit after the F-Word – no sign of shock
3. Very delayed reaction from Jenny
4. late reaction from Jenny on only her mouth area.
Yes, this looks like rehearsed one for me.
What about the cue cards? In an effort to seem genuine in her delivery, she could have scanned ahead and processed before delivering the line. Perhaps her eyes saw “friggin” but her brain said “f-*in”. As soon as she said it, her eyes narrowed – perhaps to read again and perhaps she recalled the audio in her head. Afterwards, she puffed out her cheeks when she realized her mistake. She doesn’t have to give an instant reaction because I’m sure they drop the f-bomb so many times in their circles-that it felt right in tune with her character. Could the cue card have been tampered with before air time?
I have to agree with him. If a mistake is made the body would instantly react as she realized it. Her response was delayed almost waiting for the audience to react and notice.
My initial reaction before reading the “professional commentary” was: it’s fake. It came too quickly and smoothly for it to not be rehearsed. Plus it looked like she was counting the beats in the back of her mind to getting the timing of the face right. She showed no real or convincing signs of embarassment or shame at letting the f-bomb slip. Plus, and maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see any real signs of suprise in the other actress’s face either.
From what I saw it looked like a sigh of relief from actually pulling it off or a big breath because she just realized what happened
C. Lewis
October 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I believe that it was on accident a lot of times i believe that swearing is uncontrollable and she just blurted it out
Brianna
October 26th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I definitly think she was slightly stunned after she dropped the f-bomb on SNL. After the fact the look on her face seemed relieved that her language was taken so lightly and was casually grazed over for the rest of the skit.
I think that the new cast member saying the f-word was planned. If that wasn’t what she really was going to say she should have messed up and looked so embarrassed. The other actor didn’t even show emotion when it happened, if she didn’t know about it, it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did.
mllejezebel
November 1st, 2009 at 4:07 pm
accident.
accident something about her eyebrows and forehead
She so did not mean to say that. I would say that what she said was normal conversation that crept into the script.
You are all looking at her reaction after the sentence, but if you look at her reaction immediately after she says the F-word, this is her face: http://drop.io/t1njtkv/asset/picture-3-jpg
This was the real microexpression for surprise. The post-reaction was a fake reaction. I think as she was finishing the sentence was when she was weighing the pro’s and con’s of her consequences, which she probably judged as her slip to be a good thing, hence the fake expression of embarrassment, which was intentional, but not premeditated.
I’m going to say it wasn’t rehearsed. She gave a subtle quick look to the right with her eyes IMMEDIATELY after the word slipped out. That was her “oops” expression. The puff expression at the end was an attempt to recover from her mistake.
well that was unintentional, she gives a very, very slight pause before she uses “friggin” meaning she caught herself before her natural way of communicating came through. her use of the F-word was unintentional, the puffed up face was a mixture of emotions, the two biggest ones being embarrassment and fear. She must understand that fowl language of that manner on live television isn’t tolerated very well. She had fear going through her mind considering that she could be fired for using it.
AussieB
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
It was planned but I think it didn’t go as planned. The delay before the “oops” expressions was most definatly planned. She knew she was going to say it but it came out a little clearer than she might have wanted and then she remembers to make the expression as if to say “oh dear, I’m sorry for saying that”
So really it was supposed to be subtle and as you can see, it wasn’t at all.
Paula U
November 25th, 2009 at 5:52 am
This was a written and rehereshed script. The original script said freckin’ or some substitute for the “f” bomb, but she is a new member and is clearlly nervous and accidently slipped in the real word during the per formance. I think the cheeck puff resulted from her realizing that she “flubbed” her line. A more polished and experienced actor may have made the same error, but would haave covered it better. I don’t believe the delay proves it was deliberate, this isn’t real life, it’s acting. After you deliver a line, you wait for your next clue, it was the expression on the other actor’s face that clued her in that she had messed up. That’s the reason for the delay.
it was intentional no surprise after she said it
hey anthony take another good look at ur pic sure her eyes are raised but there was fear her mouth was”nt it open it was closed and her lips showed it
jdhs223
December 1st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I’m confused, where can I find Ekman’s analysis of this? I can’t find anything on his website or the Lie to Me website.
jdhs223
December 1st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
This was NOT rehearsed.
There’s no reason either actress should be “shocked”. The F-word is so common in daily life and in movies and on premium cable channels that most people are desensitized to it. Are you shocked every time a friend of yours says the F-word?
Yes, broadcast TV has different rules, but that’s a legal issue and the fact that it was wrong in that context wouldn’t necessarily register instantly.
The delayed expression looked like embarrassment and I believe the facial expression was naturally but not involuntary. It’s a form of subtly apologizing and showing humility, without totally breaking character and stopping the act.
I agree with jdhs223 she looked like she realized after the fact that she was on live tv
She totally staged it. She wants to look surprised, but it’s not working. All she did was puff out her cheeks a few seconds after she said the word. If she really had not meant to say it, she would have been very surprised at herself.
she planned to say “fucking” as Ekman said. She did the expression before she said the word so she alredy knew about that:P
A+ Doctor…. as always 
Matt Young
January 14th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Right after she finished the sentence her eyes widened and she looked like she was ready to blow a trumpet or something. The other actor was able to act like nothing happened so good improv on her part. This is a tough one to call but I believe she accidentally said it.
My first reaction is that it was accidental. She probably uses that word all the time and it just rolled off her tongue. The puffed face looked to me like a combination of “oh, crap, did I just say that?” and an attempt not to crack up laughing.
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