Eddie Murphy returned to “Saturday Night Live”’s Studio 8H stage for the first time in 35 years last night (Dec. 21). The comedian, who joined the ‘SNL’ cast when he was 19, was accompanied by a few special guests: Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Kenan Thompson. Lizzo also took the stage to perform.
The comedian held no punches as he revisited a number of his famed sketches, including Buckwheat, Gumby and Mister Robinson. Murphy kicked off the night with a monologue. “This is the last episode of 2019. But if you’re black, this is the first episode since I left back in 1984,” he said.
He also showed off a photo of himself from his ‘SNL’ cast member days and said, “Yeah, I look at least five years younger there. You know what they always say: Money don’t crack.”
Murphy even took a jab at Bill Cosby, who criticized him in the ‘80s for the language he used in his jokes. “If you had told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring stay-at-home house dad and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I would have took that bet,” he said. The comedian added his Cosby impersonation and joked, “Who is America’s Dad now?”
At one point, Murphy, Morgan, Chappelle and Rock all exchanged jokes while on stage, to which Chappelle said “half of Netflix’s budget, right here onstage.”
Morgan chimed in, “Not me. I made all my millions on the road.” “You mean touring?” asked Murphy. “No, I got hit by a truck,” Morgan responded.
Murphy returning to host ‘SNL’ was an iconic moment that completely took over social media. “SNL’s funniest joke last night: Chappelle: This is half of netflix’s budget on stage. Tracy Morgan: Not me. I made millions on the road Eddie: touring? Tracy: No, I got hit by a truck. If you can come out of a coma and make that joke, you deserve,” one person tweeted.
Another said, “Eddie murphy for the win. Straight killed it.”
Check out more reactions to Eddie Murphy’s return to ‘SNL’ below.