SNL

"Saturday Night Live" took on the massive sexual harassment/assault scandal by telling perpetrators they are now in the same place the woman have been for years -- hell.

The skit -- "Welcome to Hell" -- is not knee-slapping funny, but it's definitely powerful. It addresses the sorrow some people have expressed that certain titans have now fallen and their projects have been shelved ... like Jeremy Piven and "Wisdom of the Crowd."

Elliott Gould doesn't think Sen. Al Franken's career deserves to be sunk by Leeann Tweeden revealing he groped her in 2006 ... because that mistake doesn't define his friend.

The actor's been tight with Franken long before his political days-- Franken was an 'SNL' writer back when Elliott hosted. Despite the allegations -- many of which Franken admitted and apologized for -- Elliott stood by his friend Thursday night outside Craig's.

His take? Franken's track record should count for something -- which is why Elliott doesn't think the Senator will go the way of Harvey Weinstein.

10:54 AM PT -- Leeann says she accepts Franken's apology.

Sen. Al Franken may face an Ethics Committee review in the wake of claims he groped and sexually harassed radio host and former model Leeann Tweeden.

Tweeden released a 2006 photo of Franken -- who was not then elected -- groping, or at least pretending to grope her as she slept during a USO trip they both made. Tweeden says Franken, an 'SNL' vet and comedian at the time, had written a skit for their USO show in the Middle East, which required him to kiss her.

She claims during rehearsals he repeatedly tried to kiss her even though she told him it was not necessary. As she put it, "Relax Al, this isn't SNL ... we don't need to rehearse the kiss." She claims he persisted and eventually put his hand on the back of her head, and jammed his tongue in her mouth.

She says the alleged groping photo was taken on the plane ride home, after the 2-week tour, and as she slept.

Franken released a lengthy statement, apologizing directly to Tweeden. He also said, "I respect women. I don't respect men who don't. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed."

Ben Affleck was house hunting ... no big surprise since he's apparently in the market after moving out of the family home, but what's interesting is that he brought his girlfriend along for the ride.

Ben and Lindsay Shookus were all over the west side of L.A. Tuesday ... looking at super expensive homes. One house in the Santa Monica mountains is listed at $18.5 million, another in Pacific Palisades is going for $12 million and one in Brentwood is also on the market for $12 mil.

They also looked at a house under construction, and they walked the property.

It seems they were smitten by the Santa Monica mountains house because they stayed for more than an hour. Lindsay was clutching the spec sheet as they left.

Harvey Weinstein was torn apart on SNL Saturday night ... and everything was fair game.

Colin Jost and Michael Che skewered the fallen mogul, from his appearance to his conduct. The crowd applauded when Jost scoffed at the notion Weinstein was going to rehab, saying the proper facility had bars and barbed wire.

Their delivery is more than comedic ... you hear indignation and even anger in their voices.

Jason Aldean turning down UFC 216 to do "Saturday Night Live" was a bad move -- so says DJ Clue, who tells TMZ Sports the country music star shoulda come through for the Vegas shooting survivors and first responders in Vegas.

"He should have represented ... and said 'f**k that money,'" Clue told us outside STORY in South Beach.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Dana White was PISSED when he saw Aldean perform on SNL -- after Jason turned down Dana's offer to sing the national anthem in front of hundreds of people connected to the tragedy.

Dana says Jason's reps told him he was too shaken up to play live -- and the fact that he did SNL on the same night makes him a "coward" that cares about his image more than the shooting victims.

Clue isn't coming at Jason that hard ... stressing that everyone's gotta stay together in times like this.

But would the hip-hop legend have made it out to Vegas? "ABSOLUTELY."

Dana White is FURIOUS with Jason Aldean -- telling TMZ Sports the country singer's team lied to him about why he couldn't perform in front of Vegas shooting survivors and 1st responders at UFC 216.

White says he had reached out to Aldean's camp to sing the national anthem at UFC 216 in Vegas on Saturday night ... an event in which 15 survivors and hundreds of 1st responders were in the crowd.

White says Aldean's people turned down the offer -- saying he was shaken up from the shooting and might never perform live again.

White says he stressed that the survivors who would be attending UFC 216 were shot while watching Aldean perform and it would mean a lot to them ... and the city of Las Vegas. Still, he declined.

Instead, Aldean flew to NYC and performed on "Saturday Night Live" at the same time as UFC 216. Needless to say, White is pissed.

"His image was more important than coming back to Vegas and playing for the people who are his fans and who got shot watching him play," White says.

"F*ck you, Jason Aldean. Stay out of Vegas."

White says he also reached out to several country music stars -- telling us, "Country music was attacked. Those were country music fans."

White says every single country act turned him down.

"Those are people who buy your albums and none of you country music people could sing the anthem in front of survivors and 1st responders?"

White offered a ton of praise to Everlast -- who stepped in and performed instead.

Jason Aldean opened "SNL" Saturday night in the aftermath of the Las Vegas massacre, singing the message, "Don't Back Down."

As you know, Aldean was onstage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival a week ago when Stephen Paddock fired into the crowd, killing scores and injuring hundreds.

"SNL" broke format -- the show usually opens with a skit -- but instead it was Aldean who recounted the horror and then broke into the song with a very determined, defiant look.

Michael Che called Donald Trump lots of things on "SNL" Saturday night, including a bitch, which is all fair game ... but did he cross the line when he called Trump a "cracker."

Che went off on the Prez during Weekend Update over Trump's handling of the Puerto Rican crisis. He took aim at Trump and Melania, but then dropped the term that is widely regarded as a derogatory term referring to white people.

Some people think calling someone a "cracker" is akin to using the n word, but others disagree.

So we gotta ask ...

"SNL" was hilarious for it's season opener ... Alec Baldwin tore the Prez apart over his reaction to the Puerto Rican disaster.

No stone was left unturned. The Sarah Huckabee Sanders impression was cringe-worthy. Ditto Jeff Sessions, who planted a smooch on Trump's cheek as he pledged his blind loyalty.

The phone call between the mayor of Puerto Rico and Trump is hilarious ... especially how Trump mischaracterizes the call and blasts her to Sarah.

Definitely no shortage of material this season.

Steve Bannon never reached out to 'SNL' announcer and former cast member Darrell Hammond about how the show would portray him, at least not according to Hammond.

There was a rumor going around that Bannon had contacted Hammond while he was still chief strategist for Trump. Bannon debunked the rumors in his recent "60 Minutes" interview, and when we got Hammond out in N.Y. Thursday night he also brushed it off as fake news.

Hammond says he doesn't have Bannon's number and vice versa, but doesn't sound like Hammond would let the call go to voicemail if Bannon rang.

Dave Chappelle's waited a long time for his first Emmy, so you better believe he's showing it off ... EVERYwhere!

We got the comedian walking around WeHo Tuesday brandishing his trophy, and he had a very logical reason for waving it around in public.

Dave's clearly proud of winning the Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his post-election monologue on 'SNL' -- but also admits the whole awards thing's kinda silly. Remember, he had a HUGE show of his own back in the day, and never won.

Still, Chappelle's grateful, and tells us how he's gonna keep the Emmy close. Maybe too close.

Tina Fey annihilated Donald Trump on 'SNL' with the help of sheet cake and a grilled cheese sandwich.

The UVA grad, class of '92, made a pretty spectacular appearance on 'Weekend Update,' taking aim at the Prez, the neo-Nazis and Ann Coulter, whom she called "Yard Sale Barbie."

It's hilarious and serious at the same time. She uses the cake to show how people are feeling both powerless and powerful ... something that is easier to understand with the help of frosting.

Sean Spicer was not laughing along with America when Melissa McCarthy did her impressions of him -- in fact, he says she went "over the line."

Spicer talked to Sean Hannity, hours after resigning from his gig as White House Press Secretary, and admitted he found some of the 'SNL' skits to be "malicious." He threw a tiny jab at Melissa saying other late night TV jokes made him laugh.

Spicey said he CAN take a joke, just not the ones that turn "mean."

He couldn't have been referring to the motorized podium, right?

Ben Affleck is leaving no doubt -- he and 'SNL' producer Lindsay Shookus are in a relationship -- but someone needs to throw in the towel, because as you see from Ben's shirt, L.A.'s super humid.

The couple stepped out for pizza Monday night in the Pacific Palisades. They were also spotted leaving a coffee shop Monday morning.

As we reported Ben had moved on and started dating someone back in April when Jennifer Garner filed for divorce ... looks like Lindsay was that woman. The divorce should be final in a few months. We're told it's completely amicable.

Ben Affleck's looking more and more like he's locking in 'SNL' producer Lindsay Shookus as his new gf ... 'cause they had a coffee/juice date Monday morning.

Ben and Lindsay grabbed Starbucks in Brentwood after apparently spending the weekend together. They reportedly had a dinner date Thursday night at Giorgio Baldi ... one of Ben's fave spots.

We broke the story ... Ben and Jen Garner officially filed for divorce earlier this year. We were told they were already seeing other people.