Bring on the laughter! Saturday Night Live has had many stellar hosts over the years, but fans have witnessed some so-so performances as well. Fortunately, Us Weekly is here to remind you of them all.
Justin Timberlake, for one, has served as both a musical guest and host on SNL on multiple occasions. The “Can’t Stop the Feeling” crooner first hosted the show in 2003 and would go on to serve in the role four more times.
While taking on the hosting duties, Timberlake’s most memorable moments came when he performed comedic songs like “Dick in a Box” alongside Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island group. In April 2020, the former ‘NSync member revealed that the song nearly didn’t happen.
“I fully believe that that idea would not have been seen all the way through if the bigwigs would’ve known what we were doing,” he said on Hot Ones, noting that the Federal Communications Commission came by to caution them about the risqué track.
“The FCC shows up. They’re like, ‘You can’t say dick on the air.’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, right,’” he explained while sharing that they opted to bleep out the profane word. “I think the irony of that is I think the funnier version is the bleeped-out version.”
Justin Bieber first served as a musical guest on SNL in 2010. Nearly three years later, he returned to Studio 8H to host the show to dismal reviews. The “Yummy” crooner even drew criticism from former SNL star Bill Hader, who slammed Bieber’s behind-the-scenes behavior.
“Bieber, he just was in a bad place. Maybe he’s in a better place. But then, it was rough,” the Barry actor explained on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2018. “Everyone’s usually on great behavior. Everyone’s very excited, and great behavior. Most times, it’s 100 percent.”
Hader added, “Bieber’s the only one, in my experience. I think he just seemed exhausted or he was at the end of a rope. He was just so huge [at the time].”
Meanwhile, industry legend Betty White hosted the sketch show for the first time in 2010, making history for being the eldest person to do so at 88. A fan-supported Facebook campaign that caught the attention of SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels led to her landing the hosting gig — and White did not disappoint.
The Golden Girls alum later admitted that she got really nervous before hitting the SNL stage. “It’s a lifesaver because the panic that sets in, you have to [counteract] and you have to get a handle on it in order to do what you’re doing,” she said in a PBS special called Betty White: First Lady of Television in 2018. “So, the stage fright is what puts the edge, I think, on a performance.”
Scroll down to see some of the more memorable SNL hosts over the years.
The “Thank U Next” singer’s first appearance on SNL occurred in 2014 when she was a musical guest, and she returned to the show nearly two years later to both host and perform. During her time as host, she notably nailed her Jennifer Lawrence impersonation and showed off her vocal impressions of singers like Shakira and Celine Dion.
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Giuliani hosted the show in 1997 when he was serving as the mayor of New York City. He’s made many “worst SNL hosts” lists because he didn’t have the comedic chops to pull off his outing. Despite this, he’s since made appearances on the show twice in 2001 and again in 2008.
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The Community alum’s first and only time hosting SNL occurred in 2018, during which he also performed as his musical alter ego, Childish Gambino. He garnered a lot of praise for his hosting duties, including through a spoofed A Quiet Place sketch centered around Kanye West’s antics.
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Trump first hosted SNL in 2004 and again in 2015, right before the 2016 presidential election that he ultimately won. Both of his performances garnered criticism for playing it too safe as he failed to deviate from his typical Trump persona.
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The Academy Award winner only hosted SNL once in 2003. Aside from his subpar performance across sketches, he infamously improvised his introduction for then-musical guest, Jamaican reggae artist Sean Paul. Brody stepped out wearing faux dreadlocks and put on a Jamaican accent. He was later banned from ever hosting the show again.
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The former child star has hosted SNL a whopping four times. She took her first turn on the stage in 2004, returning in 2005, 2006, and 2012. Lohan memorably played a sexualized Hermione Granger and joined Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for Weekend Update.
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Timberlake quickly became a Saturday Night Live favorite after he first hosted the show in 2003. In his debut episode, and multiple times in the subsequent years, he also served as the installment's musical guest. Timberlake's highlights include segments with The Lonely Island and skits as a hype man for stores and charities in an oversized costume.
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The prolific host made his first appearance on SNL in 1989. He continued to host every few years up until 2001, when he took a 12-year break. Goodman made his grand return to the stage in 2013 and did not disappoint in an episode that included cameos from Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro.
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Betty White proved age ain't nothing but a number when she hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in 2010. White, who was 88 at the time, was recognized as one of the best hosts the show had ever seen as she joked around with the likes of Fey, Poehler and Maya Rudolph.
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The 30 Rock alum first stepped onto SNL’s New York City set in 1990. The celebrated comedian went on to host 16 more times, impressing with his quick and risky humor over the years. Beginning in the fall of 2016, Baldwin joined the show on a recurring basis to play Trump — a part that earned his third Emmy Award in 2017.
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The heiress nabbed a hosting spot in Saturday Night Live's 30th season. Hilton starred in one panned episode in 2005 and can often be found atop lists of the worst SNL hosts of all time.
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The Five-Timers Club member has hosted the show 10 times since his 1985 debut. The Oscar winner has impressed fans with his self-deprecating humor and chemistry with SNL's stars.
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Known for his dramatic role in Mad Men, Hamm surprised fans with his hilarity on Saturday Night Live. He first hosted the show in 2008 and repeated his efforts twice in 2010. Lest he stay away too long, Hamm went on to make quick cameos in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 episodes.
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Martin was so good in his first 1976 hosting episode that Saturday Night Live brought him back later that same season. He went on to host many times in the decades since, and became a fan favorite with his and Dan Aykroyd's Wild and Crazy Guys characters.
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Veteran actress Bergen was the first woman to host SNL, appearing in the fourth episode of the very first season of the show. After debuting in November 1975, she returned just weeks later for a sophomore bow in December 1975. From there, she would go on to host the show three more times.
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After first taking the SNL stage as a musical guest in 2010, Bieber returned to host the show in 2013. His gig on Saturday Night Live's 38th season was largely poorly received, with a brief high point when he teased his former child star pal Miley Cyrus in a sketch.
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In December 2019, the former SNL cast member returned to the show for the first time in 35 years. He reprised some of his most iconic characters from his original time on SNL, including Gumby, Buckwheat, Velvet Jones and Mr. Robinson. In 2020, the Coming to America star won an Emmy — his first — for the episode.
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Since working as a writer on SNL, the comedian has hosted the show four times: once in 2018 and 2019 and twice in 2020. Some of the best-known sketches from his episodes are "Diner Lobster" and "Bodega Bathroom," which feature elaborate musical numbers.
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After debuting his beloved Bernie Sanders impression in a 2015 episode, the Seinfeld cocreator hosted SNL for the first time in February 2016. He imitated the Vermont senator again for a sketch called "Bern Your Enthusiasm," which imagined life on the campaign trail as an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. David wrote for SNL from 1984 to 1985, but only one of his sketches ever made it to air.
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The "Watermelon Sugar" singer did double duty in November 2019 as both the host and musical guest. In one viral sketch called "Sara Lee," he played a social media manager who got in trouble for mixing up his personal Instagram account with his professional one.
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Though critics were surprised to see the Skims founder's name listed as a season 47 host, Kardashian proved her comedy chops with a scorched-earth monologue that poked fun at her mom and sisters as well as ex Kanye West and former stepfather Caitlyn Jenner. In a sketch called "The People's Kourt," she even dressed as her older sister, Kourtney Kardashian, trolling her for her frequent PDA with boyfriend Travis Barker.
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