Chris Kattan claims in a new book that he broke his neck on "Saturday Night Live" and became addicted to painkillers as a result.
Chris Kattan is saying one 2001 skit on “Saturday Night Live” changed his life forever.
In the skit, a spoof of “The Golden Girls,” Kattan choked on cheesecake and threw himself backward, hitting the ground hard.
Kattan knew right away the injury was something serious but said he kept it to himself because he feared the repercussions to his career.
“I went backward on my chair to sell it and I really put myself into the character,” he told Inside Edition. “I felt this snap on my neck when I hit the railing of the chair itself.”
Kattan eventually underwent five surgeries for what he called a broken neck, but he said the injury was so debilitating he became addicted to painkillers.
His years of stardom on “SNL” came to an end after seven years. In 2014, he was arrested for DUI. Now, he says all his problems stem from that one sketch in 2001.
“People photograph you and they go, ‘What is wrong with him? He is a big drug addict, something is wrong with his back. He looks terrible,’” he said. “Some people are like, ‘He seems kind of hunchback and why so stiff?’ It is debilitating and humiliating, it does affect you psychologically as well.”
Kattan tells his story in his new memoir "Baby, Don't Hurt Me,” a line from the song "What Is Love?" that's played during the popular “Night at the Roxbury” sketches.
Click here to read an excerpt from "Baby, Don't Hurt Me."
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