Eddie Murphy Roasts Bill Cosby in SNL Return: ‘Who’s America’s Dad Now?’
The last time Eddie Murphy appeared on stage at Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, it was during Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special. Instead of portraying Bill Cosby in a star-studded Celebrity Jeopardy sketch—as the show wanted him to—Murphy instead made one brief appearance to say how “happy” he was to be back before awkwardly throwing to commercial. No jokes were told.
Tonight, Murphy finally returned for real, hosting SNL for the first time in 35 years. And he came ready to play.
There was apparently no role for him in the over-crowded cold open Democratic debate sketch, but Murphy, who joined SNL as a cast member in 1980 when he was just 19 years old, got the loudest ovation of any host in recent memory when he jogged out onto the stage for his monologue, prompting a chant of “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!” And he was quick to address his long absence.