Eddie Murphy is back!
The 58-year-old star hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live, marking the first time he has acted on its stage since he left the show 35 years ago. And boy, did he bring the nostalgia and the laughs.
Here are five highlights:
1. Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Funny: Wasting no time, Murphy immediately fired off a sick burn at fellow ’80s comedy legend Bill Cosby, who is currently in prison for sexual assault. In his iconic 1987 Eddie Murphy Raw comedy special, Murphy had recalled a time Bill had chastised him over the phone for “being too dirty on stage.”
“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,” Murphy, who has 10 children, said in his SNL monologue.
“Who is America’s dad now?” he said, imitating Cosby.
2. The Fab Four: During his monologue, Murphy united onstage with fellow fan-favorite black comics Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan, the latter two of which are also former SNL stars.
“Alright, now you’re looking at half of Netflix’s budget, right here on stage,” Chappelle said.
3. Welcome Back, Mister Robinson: Murphy reprised his old SNL character from the recurring sketch Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood, a racially charged parody of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
4. Welcome Back, Gumby: Murphy reprised his depiction of ’50s character Gumby in a racially charged segment of SNL‘s Weekend Update.
5. Welcome Back, Buckwheat: Murphy reprised another one of his SNL characters in a parody of The Masked Singer.
Lizzo was the musical guest. She performed her songs “Good as Hell” and “Truth Hurts.”
(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)