Here's why Louis C.K. and Lorne Michaels fought over an 'SNL' monologue

In an interview featured in Judd Apatow's new book, "Sick in the Head," comedian Louis C.K. revealed that he had an intense disagreement with "Saturday Night Live" showrunner Lorne Michaels when hosting the show for the second time in 2014. 

Relaying the story to Apatow, C.K. explained that he was very displeased when Michaels wanted to cut down his 12 minute rehearsal monologue - which C.K. had "obsessed" over and crafted at open mic nights - to eight minutes. 

While C.K. was adamant that all 12 minutes stay in, Michaels disagreed, saying "It was good, but there was a lot of air in it, a lot of stopping and starting. I know there are cuts in there."

"My face turned red," C.K. said. "I was angry. I was like, "Well, I don't know. I thought [the set] was pretty good. And f--- you.'"

Michaels responded by showing him the rehearsal tape, and that's when C.K. realized that the routine wasn't as tight as he thought it was.

"My point was to prove how great it was," C.K. said. "And I watched it and I was like, God damn, it's not that good. Tons of air. And a lot of stopping and starting. I had a whole fart thing. A whole thing about farting on a baby that f---ing killed, and [Michaels] was like, 'You're winning without it. I wouldn't do it.' So I realized the farting on babies was stupid and it's going to ruin the monologue." 

The monologue that finally made it on to the live show was eight minutes of Louis C.K. at his best - featuring dark and hilarious material on third world hunger, feminism, and religion. 

Despite their heated disagreement, C.K. expressed his respect for Michaels - "He's so smart, but he scared me. And I needed to go in scared" - and ultimately, C.K. returned to host for a third time this year with an even more controversial monologue, which dipped into off-color comments on child molestation and racism.