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Congratulations are in order for Taraji P. Henson. In case you didn’t hear, the Empire star will host Saturday Night Live on April 11. While this is a wonderful accomplishment the D.C. native can add to her resume, it unfortunately is a reminder of a lack of diversity when it comes to hosts of color. Taraji will become the tenth Black woman to ever host SNL… in 40 years. That’s just two percent of the hosting pool compared to the 29 percent of white women who previously hosted.
In case you’re wondering, here’s a look at the other nine hosts.
h/t
Splash News
Kerry Washington
Did you catch Scandal star Kerry Washington on SNL? The actress hosted the show back in 2013 that received some okay reviews. Not only did she impersonate Michelle Obama but took a stab at the show’s lack of diversity. The actress had her own “scandal” (more like celebrity tea) as she was pregnant at the time. They did a decent job of hiding the bump.
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Halle Berry
The Academy Award winner hosted SNL nearly eight years ago. While the episode received so-so feedback, she did have fun moments with musical guest Britney Spears–including a quick re-enactment of the infamous kiss between Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera.
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Oprah
Who knew lady O had such a funny bone? The media mogul sported classic 80’s attire–including huge shoulder pads–during her opening monologue for Saturday Night Live in 1986. She certainly had no problem speaking to the audience though the delivery came off a little more serious instead of funny.
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Janet Jackson
The year 2004 was a memorable one for Janet Jackson. Not only did she have the infamous wardrobe malfunction while performing alongside Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl, but was banned from attending the Grammys that year (Justin was allowed). She released her eighth studio album Damita Jo that gave us the single “All Nite (Don’t Stop).”
It also happened to be the year she hosted Saturday Night Live (she was also the musical guest). Her skits included a monologue about her childhood and spoof of the show Good Times.
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Gabourey Sidibe
Don’t you refer to Gabourey as her character from Precious. The actress made that quite clear during her musical monologue when she hosted SNL back in 2010. Critics praised Sidibe’s comedic approach and her ability to capture the attention of her audience. One standout during her episode was the skit “Alarm Clocks and More.”
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Cicely Tyson
Did you know Cicely Tyson was the first African-American woman to host Saturday Night Live? She made history during an episode in 1979 that included musical guests Talking Heads. Unfortunately there’s no footage of her to show (you can purchase the season on Amazon).
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Queen Latifah
All hail the queen!
Queen Latifah hosted SNL not once, but twice between 2003 and 2004. She was also the musical guest for one of her episodes. Her latter hosting job earned great praise, especially for an impersonation of Gwen Ifill during a presidential debate skit. Thus far, Queen Latifah is one of a handful of rappers to host the show.
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Maya Rudolph
Many folks didn’t expect to see a former SNL alum return to the show as a host,especially not Maya Rudolph who has had a few movie and TV roles but not necessarily a huge career after parting ways with the show in 2007. Riding the wave of her hit movie Bridesmaids, Rudolph returned to Saturday Night Live and delivered memorable performances.
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Rosario Dawson
Rounding out the list is Black Latina Rosario Dawson. The Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban actress took her stab at hosting SNL in 2009. One memorable skit she starred in was “La Policia Mexicana” where she played a cop interrogating a suspect in Spanish.
