‘SNL50’: Steve Martin Tackles DEI, Gulf Of Mexico Renaming, ICE Raids In Opening Monologue As John Mulaney Roasts Celebrity Hosts

deadline.com:

Steve Martin found a ingenious way to take back the record for the most times hosting Saturday Night Live by tying Alec Baldwin at 17 — he got to do the opening monologue on NBC’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special on Sunday night.

It may not actually count, but Martin made the best of the opportunity with an assist from his longtime pal and SNL alum Martin Short as well as former SNL writer John Mulaney, both also former SNL hosts.

Martin dove into politics from the get-go, opening the monologue with, “I’m Steve Martin, Saturday Night Live‘s newest diversity hire.” DEI has been in the headlines recently as the new Donald Trump administration has revised or eliminated a slew of DEI policies.

Also among the fist actions of President Trump was to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Martin had his own take on that too. “It was only a few days ago that [SNL boss] Lorne [Michaels] told me I was doing the monologue,” Martin said. “I was actually vacationing on a friend’s boat down on the Gulf of Steve Martin.” Martin also poked fun at SNL‘s age while also calling the monologue “traditionally the weakest part of the show.” “A fun fact: a person born during the first season of Saturday Night Live could today be easily dead of natural causes,” he quipped.