Only Two 'Saturday Night Live' Hosts Have Committed Murder, but Which Two?

During the SNL50 anniversary special, a slew of celebrities turned out to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. The show has become an institution, which also means that it has a long history of flirting with controversy.

During the opening monologue, John Mulaney showed up to tell a few jokes, including one about how terrible many of the celebrities he worked with as hosts were. Mulaney joked that 894 people had hosted the show and "it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder." Naturally, many people immediately wanted to know which two he was talking about. Here's what we know.

Mulaney didn't offer any details on which hosts he was referring to, but the likeliest answers seem to be O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake. Simpson was famously acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, but there are many who believe he was guilty of the crime. He hosted on Feb. 25, 1978, and was eventually found civilly liable in the wrongful death of Goldman and battery of both Brown and Goldman in 1997.

Blake, meanwhile, hosted in November of 1982 and was charged and eventually acquitted in the shooting death of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley. Although he was not found guilty at trial, he too was found liable in a civil lawsuit and ordered to pay damages. Both Simpson and Blake are now deceased.

Although Blake and Simpson are the two likeliest candidates, there was one other option circulating on social media.

Some thought that Mulaney might be referring to Alec Baldwin, who has hosted the show a whopping 17 times and who went to trial for involuntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set. The trial was dismissed in July of 2024 when the judge found that the prosecutors had failed to turn over key evidence.

Baldwin was in attendance and spoke during the anniversary celebration, so it seems unlikely that Mulaney was referring to him.

Actor Robert Wagner, who hosted the show in 1989, was also a potential candidate. He has never been charged with murder, but he has long been suspected of having some involvement in the tragic drowning death of his wife Natalie Wood in 1981. In all likelihood, though, Mulaney was referring to the two men who both went to trial for what could have been intentional homicide, even if they were both acquitted.

It's worth noting, too, that the joke is safest if it is referring to people who have died. Celebrities can be fairly litigious, so you might want to avoid suggesting that someone committed murder if they're still alive to sue you.

Mulaney has sacrificed plenty in service of a good joke, though, so he might not be that concerned about that element. While there are four potential options, then, the two likeliest are almost undoubtedly O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake.