On its season finale, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch poking fun at flight delays at Newark Liberty International Airport. Many viewers, including those who recently experienced long delays there, found it relatable and funny. The chaos at Newark is a common frustration.
Mocking Newark’s issues has sparked serious discussion. Lawmakers have taken notice, and the federal government is working on solutions.
But the sketch then took a darker turn. Performer Ego Nwodim, playing the character ‘Miss Eggy,’ shifted the focus to airplane food. She joked about peanuts no longer being served, saying, “everybody WANTS to have an allergy.” The punchline followed: “Take a Benadryl and shut your a** up.” The audience laughed.
For people living with food allergies or those who care for them, this was no joke.
This contrast is telling. While airport delays lead to action and improvement, food allergies still serve as punchlines. One issue gets attention and resources; the other is dismissed.
Targeting a Serious Health Issue
This is not about lacking humor. It is about the careless mocking of a serious medical condition. Food allergies affect millions and can cause death within minutes.
Would SNL joke about someone having a diabetic emergency or a seizure mid-flight? Likely not. So why is anaphylaxis—an allergic reaction—treated as a joke?
As a mother, I have seen my son’s eyes lose their sparkle after accidentally eating peanuts. That allergen was the subject of the sketch’s joke. There is nothing funny about the fear and helplessness it causes.
Spreading Dangerous Myths
The skit reinforced two harmful myths. First, that food allergies are a choice. They are not. No one chooses to constantly worry about food or live with such risks.
Second, the idea that Benadryl can stop severe allergic reactions is false. Epinephrine is the only effective treatment. As one doctor said bluntly, “Benadryl is what you take so you don’t itch while you’re dying.”
Worse, epinephrine is not required on airline emergency medical kits. Airplanes are one of the most dangerous places for a severe allergic reaction. At 30,000 feet, access to emergency help and medication is limited. Yet food allergies remain the subject of jokes.
Jokes Have Real Consequences
Mockery on TV encourages people in real life to ignore or belittle food allergies. At Allergic Living, we have reported cases where allergies were weaponized.
In one incident, a high school football player with a peanut allergy was targeted by teammates who spread peanuts on his gear and in his locker. He developed hives after exposure. This was no harmless prank; it was deliberate harm.
In the UK, a teenager allergic to dairy died after classmates threw cheese at him. The cheese touched broken skin and triggered fatal anaphylaxis.
These examples are part of a troubling trend. Normalizing allergy jokes encourages ignorance and bullying. It puts lives at risk.
Comedy with Responsibility
This is not a call to censor comedy or free speech. Comedy can and should challenge norms. But jokes about food allergies do not challenge anything. They only reinforce stigma.
If a joke about Newark Airport can start a national conversation, why can’t allergy jokes? Why can’t comedy raise awareness about the millions at risk and the gaps in safety measures, like the lack of epinephrine on planes?
Why We Must Speak Out
Some worry that speaking up will make them seem overly sensitive. But silence has its dangers. What starts as a joke can lead to real tragedy. It can lead to denied accommodations, mocking, or neglect by flight crews.
The goal is not to silence comedians but to be heard before it is too late.
We do not want fewer jokes—we want better ones. Jokes that punch up, not down. Jokes that do not spread harmful myths or put vulnerable people at risk.
We should expect more from humor and from those who create it. Comedy can be bold without targeting people who live with life-threatening conditions.
