SNL Alumni Reflect on Olympic Skier Jonny Moseley’s Hosting Gig: ‘My Favorite Host of All Time’

SNL Alumni Reflect on Olympic Skier Jonny Moseley’s Hosting Gig: ‘My Favorite Host of All Time’

SNL Alumni Reflect on Olympic Skier Jonny Moseley’s Hosting Gig: ‘My Favorite Host of All Time’

Not every Saturday Night Live host hits the mark when it comes to medals.

Ahead of next week’s SNL 50: The Anniversary Special, Mikey Day, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan, Jon Lovitz, Bobby Moynihan, Kevin Nealon, and Laraine Newman join a special episode of SiriusXM’s SNL on Stern Roundtable. During the episode, the comedians share their thoughts on which guest hosts had the talent to potentially join the SNL cast full-time.

While many of the cast members throw out more traditional picks, Bobby Moynihan offers a surprising choice: Jonny Moseley, the Olympic skier who hosted SNL in March 2002. “That’s my favorite host of all time,” says Moynihan, known for his Drunk Uncle character, perhaps in jest.

Ana Gasteyer recalls the odd circumstances surrounding Moseley’s SNL appearance. “I think he got booked and then he didn’t win the gold,” she says. “I think it was literally out of sequence. It was like Olympic booking, and then the poor guy didn’t even get the gold.”

Indeed, Moseley’s episode aired just after the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which concluded on February 24, 2002, over a week before he appeared on SNL. Moseley, who had previously won gold in men’s freestyle skiing at the 1998 Olympics, was likely booked under the assumption that he would win again in 2002. However, Finland’s Janne Lahtela claimed the gold in moguls, leaving Moseley with no medal. His teammate, Travis Mayer, earned the silver, while France’s Richard Gay secured bronze.

On his SNL appearance, Moseley portrayed a variety of roles, including a game show host, a groom at an “extreme” wedding, and, of course, a skier. This wasn’t Moseley’s only TV foray, as he also hosted three seasons of The Challenge, cohosted American Ninja Warrior, and competed on Skating With the Stars.

Earlier in the discussion, Jon Lovitz suggests Tom Hanks as the ideal SNL alum to rejoin the cast, noting that Hanks has hosted the show 10 times and appeared in more than 10 other episodes.

Mikey Day, on the other hand, picks Ariana Grande as a celebrity who would make a great cast member. Grande has hosted SNL twice, even pulling double duty as musical guest in her debut episode. She also performed as the musical guest on two additional occasions. Her most recent hosting stint in October was one of the most-watched SNL episodes in recent years.

Laraine Newman was impressed by another recent pop star host, Charli XCX. “I was amazed at how great Charli XCX was,” she says. “She was terrific.”

At the close of the roundtable, Day pitches the idea of Howard Stern hosting SNL. “I’d like to argue for Howard to host,” he says. “I don’t think he’d love the schedule, in terms of the late nights. And I think he’d be like, ‘This table read is how many sketches? 40 sketches? What?’ However, he’s a very important cultural figure, and I can’t believe he hasn’t hosted yet.”

Tune into the SNL on Stern Roundtable special on SiriusXM this week and catch the full clip from the episode.

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