According to Lorne Michaels, every single surviving host and musical guest, as well as all cast members and writers who worked on the show for more than one year, received an invitation to participate in the 40th anniversary - special - except for O.J. Simpson.
Eddie Murphy appeared on this televised special, and it was his first time back at Saturday Night Live in just over 30 years. The last time he appeared in Studio 8H, let alone on Saturday Night Live, was when he hosted the show on December 15, 1984.
The first SNL reunion since the show's 25th anniversary in 1999.
According to Norm MacDonald, Eddie Murphy was asked to play Bill Cosby in the "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketch. But Murphy refused because he did not want to make fun of the controversy surrounding sexual abuse allegations against Cosby. Kenan Thompson played Cosby in the sketch. Cosby released a statement thanking Murphy for not doing the sketch.
Eddie Murphy publicly claimed he avoided other SNL reunions due to a joke David Spade made about him on a Weekend Update segment in the 90's. However, Murphy himself made similar joke about previous cast member Garrett Morris during a Weekend Update segment in the 80's.