Regina King made her Saturday Night Live hosting debut this weekend with a nod to Eddie Murphy, a hype man and an explainer on “Black fame.”
The Oscar-winning actress kicked off her monologue by revealing she dreamed of being on SNL as a little girl, when Murphy was a regular on the show. But once the Beverly Hills Cop star left, she was done.
“I’m kidding,” King said to laughter. “It really is such an honor to be here.”
The former child star then took a walk down memory lane and talked about her “pretty wild career.” Although she admitted White viewers may not be that familiar with her work.
“If you’re Black, you probably know me from being in some of your favorite movies. If you’re White, you probably know me from Watchmen, or this monologue right now,” King quipped. “And I’m not complaining. I kind of like it that way. Whenever Black fame gets too crazy for me, I just go to the nearest White town and I’m a regular ol’ suspicious shopper again.”
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She continued by saying SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels gave her a tip on how to deal with any day-of-show nerves.
“I’m actually nervous. I asked Lorne what to do if I get scared while I’m out here, and he said ‘Don’t panic—when in doubt play the race card.’ Then he did a little shoulder shimmy and moonwalked out of my dressing room,” King told the audience before Kenan Thompson walked out to hype her appearance, while wearing a Run-DMC-inspired outfit complete with a gold chain and bucket hat.
King asked Thompson to stay on stage with her, to help calm her nerves. He told her the cast was excited she was there.
“I feel better already. Alright, let me start again,” the If Beale Street Could Talk actress said.
Thompson started hyping her up and told someone in the studio audience to show more enthusiasm. “My dude right here. You ain’t making enough noise. She won an Oscar, dog!” he said.
King then talked about her “crazy year” directing the movie One Night in Miami, prompting Thompson to remind the audience about her historic Golden Globe nomination earlier this month.
“You better recognize! She got nominated for a Golden Gi-zo baby,” the SNL cast member exclaimed. He pulled out an air horn to hype up the “queen.”
King slipped in a joke about the storyline of her critically acclaimed directorial debut, but not everyone got it.
“Did y’all hear that? My girl is up here killing it. Y’all better make some noise for that last joke!”
But Thompson was being a little too extra, and King told him his hype act was “too much.”
Watch the video of King’s monologue below.
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