Better Watch Out: Was Samuel L. Jackson Naughty or Nice on \'Saturday Night Live\'?

Twitter/@SamuelLJackson A photo of Samuel L. Jackson that the actor posted on his Twitter account shortly after his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

The moment that will most likely endure from the year-ending episode of “Saturday Night Live” is its quietly powerful opening of a children's chorus singing “Silent Night,” or â€" take your pick â€" any of the sketches starring Martin Short or musical numbers performed by Paul McCartney.

But the scene that set tongues wagging and fingers typing ea rly Sunday morning was a comedy sketch in which Samuel L. Jackson appeared to utter two obscene words. Mr. Jackson, who has colorfully expressed himself in movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “Django Unchained,” was playing himself in a recurring segment called “What Up With That?,” a sort of talk show that invariably runs out of time before its guests can be interviewed.

As its host, played by the “SNL” cast member Kenan Thompson, was bidding him good night, Mr. Jackson abruptly enunciated most, if not all, of an obscene word; amid the audience's uncertain reaction, he then said another. “Come on, Sam,” Mr. Thompson said, rolling with the punches. “Come on, now. That costs money.”

The segment of the sketch containing Mr. Jackson's apparent vulgarities can be viewed here. The version that was later posted to Hulu.com o mits these portions of his audio.

Minutes after this appearance, Mr. Jackson wrote on his Twitter account that he had uttered only about half of a four-letter word in the first instance and that Mr. Thompson was supposed to cut him off in the second instance. But, he wrote, they “blew it!!”

A representative for “Saturday Night Live” did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Over 38 seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” fleeting obscenities have very rarely slipped onto the show. In 1995, the cast member Cheri Oteri was humorously punished by having to put money into a swear jar after she accidentally cursed on air; and in 2009, the cast member Jenny Slate let slip a vulgar word in her debut appearance.

While these incidents have c reated brief stirs, they have not resulted in significant fines or other penalties for the show.