Did SNL Really Botch the Name of Michigan’s Largest City?

Spelling is hard. But for a nationally-televised show that's celebrating its 50th season, spelling the name of the largest city in Michigan shouldn't be a challenge.

You had to have a quick eye - the misspelling of 'Detroit' appeared on-screen for less than one second before a second graphic with the correct spelling took its place.

Hey, Soul Sister

The 'Forbidden Romance' sketch took us back to the mid-1950s in Detroit, exploring - in a comical manner, of course - what it might be like for a white man to be in love with a Black woman.

The couple, played by Andrew Dismukes and Ego Nwodim introduced each other to their families, played by Michael Keaton (who served as the show's host), Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, and Devon Walker.

As a way of easing the racial tension, Dismukes breaks into song, serving up Train's 2009 hit 'Hey, Soul Sister.'

He notes that the song, "Is about us. About what it's like to be married to a beautiful Black woman. Maybe when people hear it, things will start to change."

Personally, I never equated the lyrics from the ukulele-driven song to a mixed-race relationship. Train's lead singer Pat Monahan, who cowrote the song, has always said that the song was inspired by his imagination of what the Burning Man Festival (held yearly in Nevada) must be like, although he'd never been in attendance prior to writing the song.

So yes, the long-running sketch comedy show took liberty with the song's lyrics and made it 'uncomfortable.'

Detroit, Michigan - 1955

But did you catch the spelling error? As the stage was set, the following graphic was displayed for less than a second.

And then, when the year was introduced, Detroit was spelled correctly in the second slide.

After the show aired, the gaffe was corrected before this video was posted to YouTube.