The Raunchy Joke That Got Norm Macdonald Kicked Out of the State of Iowa

Is it possible to tell jokes so heinously dirty that a comedian would get asked to leave an entire state? According to comedian Jim Breuer, that’s just what happened to Norm Macdonald. 

Breuer says he and SNL castmate Darrell Hammond were booked to play a 1997 charity event in Iowa City, with Norm as the headliner. “Kids were involved and families,” Breuer told a comedy club crowd in 2010. “It was such a big deal. It was all over the major papers.” The governor himself invited Macdonald to a charity golf outing to welcome him to Iowa. 

The show organizers laid down the rules for the family-friendly event. “No cursing and no sexual agenda jokes.” No problem for Breuer, who didn’t curse as a stand-up. He’d give the crowd a little Goat Boy, and he’d be good. Same for Hammond — his impression-heavy set didn’t rely on profanity for laughs. The two comics hit the stage and the crowd ate it up, setting the table for headliner Macdonald.

The crowd went nuts as Norm was introduced. Breuer said he couldn’t wait to watch Macdonald rip the place apart with great stand-up. But Contrarian Norm showed up for the fundraiser that night, launching into a series of jokes that were not only not safe for kids but downright homophobic as well.

Breuer tells a version of Norm’s bit, but there’s actual sound from Norm’s set, so let’s use his actual jokes. Fair warning: The punchlines aren’t Iowa-safe. You can hear it yourself at the 12:38 mark of this video.

“One thing I do realize about gay guys is one of them gets gypped, you know, when there's two gay guys? That's for goddamn sure,” said Macdonald. “I don't know how they figure it out, man, but one guy gets to use his cock. That's a huge advantage; you get to use your cock. One guy's (like), ‘Hey, I'll tell you what, man — I’ll use my cock. How about you use the inside of your ass?”

You can hear the crowd voicing their displeasure in the video, shouting “Ewww!” and “Nooo!”

The audience was in a panic, says Breuer, “leaving in packs of thirties and forties. It was like a fire broke out. ‘Take the children and run!’” 

The next morning, Breuer couldn’t find Macdonald. When he asked around, he was told, “Norm got kicked out of the state.”

It’s unclear whether or not Macdonald was forcibly removed from Iowa, but university officials were definitely angry. University of Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby issued a public apology for the performance.

“To call it off-color would be a rather significant understatement,” Bowlsby said, according to the Des Moines Register. “Norm Macdonald came on, and from the beginning to end, it was just one profanity after another… We were doing everything we could to get him off stage.”

The paper also notes that the governor’s golf invitation was rescinded, and Macdonald was banned from the course.

According to a 1997 Rolling Stone story, Macdonald’s SNL office had only two letters tacked to its bulletin board. One was from Bob Dole, praising Norm’s impression. The other was from an official at the University of Iowa, reading, in part, “you insulted the intelligence and decency of a great many people.”

Macdonald displayed it like a badge of honor.