Mayim Bialik Reveals She Was Confused And Hurt By MAD Magazine & SNL Parodies

It's no secret that "Saturday Night Live" is controversial. For over 40 years, the weekly sketch comedy series has lambasted celebrities, politicians, and current events through skits and stand-up comedy performances. Some of these sketches are ill-advised and offensive, and Mayim Bialik's experience shows that they can negatively affect their chosen subjects.

The "Blossom" skit involved an actor donning a noticeably large prosthetic nose to portray Bialik's character. Moreover, Bialik was the only "Blossom" star whose appearance was subject to ridicule in the sketch, which struck her as odd at the time. However, she also had to face her peers at school after it aired, and the experience wasn't positive. "I hoped no one noticed," she wrote in the Variety piece. "All of my friends at high school watched 'SNL.' It wasn't subtle. They would all see it and I felt ashamed."

These parodies opened Bialik's eyes to anti-Semitism and the concept of "Jewface," which has been on her mind recently due to Bradley Cooper wearing a prosthetic nose to play Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro." Since then, the "Blossom" star has used her profile to question anti-Semitism and promote mental health causes, but being open about her heritage has also led to criticism and worse.