7 Saturday Night Live stars who hosted the show after getting fired

Saturday Night Live knows how to find and cultivate talent. The show has been responsible for some of the most beloved comedians and movie stars of the last five decades. That being said, the show has not always handled the exits of these stars gracefully.

Some of the biggest names to come out of SNL were actually fired from the show due to situations and circumstances that were out of their control. Well, out of their control in some instances. What is fascinating, though, is the fact that SNL will still invite these stars to come back as a host once they made it big.

We decided to chronicle this bizarre pattern, which dates back to the 1990s.

Chris Rock

Chris Rock may now be considered one of the greatest stand up comedians of all time, but he did not really get a chance to showcase his talent on Saturday Night Live. He was an underutilized member of the cast from 1990 to 1993, and was eventually let go when he expressed interest in pursuing a fresh career path.

Said path worked out, as Rock began booking film roles and dropped the legendary stand up special Bring the Pain in 1996. The comedian was eventually brought back to host SNL three different times, in 1996, 2014 and 2020. He's also made several cameos, proving there's no hard feelings.

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman's tenure on Saturday Night Live often gets overlooked. She appeared during a portion of Rock's tenure, 1993-94, but she never stuck around long enough to be given the full SNL treatment. She was billed as a featured player before her contract was ended.

Silverman went on to find tremendous success with The Sarah Silverman Program, which ran from 2007 and 2010, and her stand up comedy. She returned to host SNL a single time, in 2014, and was also impersonated by cast member Melissa Villaseñor in 2016.

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler is one of the most iconic SNL cast members of all time. That didn't stop him from getting canned, however, in 1995. The NBC executives were alarmed by the show's ratings, and believed Sandler's particular brand of comedy was not what fans wanted to see.

They were wrong. Sandler went on to become a massive movie star right away, and remains a pop culture staple. The Sandman returned to host Saturday Night Live in 2019, and he did so in style, by playing a parody song called "I'm Fired."

Norm Macdonald

Norm Macdonald did not achieve the success of Chris Rock or Adam Sandler, but he remains one of the most respected comedians of his generation. He truly marched to the beat of his own drum, and it got him fired.

Macdonald refused to stop making jokes about OJ Simpson, who was friends with one of the execs at NBC, and he was let go in 1998. The comedian was so well-liked by the cast and fans, though, that he was invited to host SNL in 1999.

Robert Downey, Jr.

It's truly bizarre that Robert Downey, Jr. was an SNL cast member. The Oscar winner was present for a single season, but was fired, along with most of the 1985-86 cast, after horrid ratings. Downey had a rollercoaster of a career in the two decades that followed, but he obviously came out on top.

You might assume that Downey was asked to host during his decade long stint as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but you'd be wrong! The actor was actually brought back to host in 1996, a year in which he appeared in the forgettable action film Danger Zone. We don't know why.

Chris Farley

Chris Farley was comedic energy incarnate. He was a scene stealer from the moment he joined SNL in 1990, and was one of its most popular names when he was fired in 1995. NBC felt the show needed a fresh start, so Farley was axed alongside his buddy Adam Sandler.

The film career instantly took off, which led to Farley returning for a single hosting gig in 1997. Sadly, the comedian died two months later. Sandler played a tribute song to Farley when he hosted in 2019.

Shane Gillis

Shane Gillis is the most recent example of an SNL firing taking an unexpected turn. The comedian was hired and fired in the span of a couple days, after footage of him using racial slurs against Asian Americans surfaced online.

Gillis' career has exploded since being fired in 2019, however. So much so, that he was brought on to host Saturday Night Live in 2024. The episode was widely hailed as one of the best of the decade. Go figure.