Why Whoopi Goldberg has never hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ despite being a standout name in comedy
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Despite being a prominent name in comedy for several years, 'The View' host Whoopi Goldberg, 69, revealed that she never wished to host the renowned comic show 'Saturday Night Live'.
The EGOT winner revealed on the 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' red carpet that she just never wanted to commit to the demanding writing schedule and long hours of hosting, though some people perceive it as a rite of passage.
Whoopi Goldberg says she 'wanted to work on my own' instead of hosting 'SNL'
Over its first half-century, NBC's iconic comedy show 'Saturday Night Live' has been able to bring in almost anyone they want as a guest host. However, 'The View' host Whoopi Goldberg is not one of them.
"It required a week, it required you to sit with people and write sketches and I didn't really have the time. And I didn't want to do that, I'd been doing that for years," Goldberg said on the 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' red carpet on February 16.
"I just wanted to work on my own," she added.
However, Goldberg has a positive memory of her most recent appearance on the NBC show due to the events that preceded it. "Justin Bieber asked me to intro him and that's how I got there," she revealed.
The 'Sister Act' actress claimed to have participated in 'SNL' "only once", but in reality, she has made two appearances on the show.
Goldberg once made an appearance as herself in a 1986 sketch titled 'Translator' prior to introducing Bieber in 2013, per Newsweek.
She also discussed her opinions on the political impact of 'Saturday Night Live' over the years.
In response to a question about whether the show's political humor was "an echo chamber" that expressed what its audience already felt, Goldberg said, "I think it's different at different times. Sometimes it's an echo chamber, and sometimes it's something different."
Moreover, Goldberg stated that Billy Crystal was the only person who was selected for her 'SNL Mount Rushmore', when asked who would be on it. "Because he's brilliant," the actress said.
Celebrities who have surprisingly never hosted 'Saturday Night Live'
Despite the fact that many of them have likely been requested, here's a list of a handful of celebrities who have surprisingly never hosted NBC's iconic comedy show.
Sandra Bullock is practically the queen of romantic comedies from the 1990s and 2000s. However, she has never been assigned to headline 'Saturday Night Live', similar to Julia Roberts, another rom-com queen.
She has, however, gotten close when she has messed about with veteran comedian Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show', per Comic Book.
Although several Denzel Washington mimicries have been performed on 'SNL', the actor himself has never made an appearance. Given that he is a New York City native and has been employed consistently since the early 1980s, his absence is somewhat unexpected.
Chris Evans is at ease with a variety of comedic styles. However, he told ET Canada that he has avoided hosting duties "like the plague", so it's understandable why he never hosted the NBC show, per Variety.
Neither Tom Holland from 'Spider-Man' nor Tom Hardy from 'Venom' have ever hosted 'Saturday Night Live'. For Hardy, that isn't shocking because it doesn't seem like he would feel comfortable doing that. However, it would likely be a good fit for the gregarious Holland.
Like her on-screen and real-life partner Tom Holland, Zendaya is likely to headline 'Saturday Night Live.' If Zendaya ever has a somewhat free week, 'SNL' should try to invite her since her presence would be a ratings blockbuster.
The fact that Al Pacino didn't try his hand at sketch comedy back in the 1990s, maybe to promote 'Scent of a Woman', is shocking. However, he has mostly avoided using such adaptability in comedic contexts.
