Maya Rudolph continued a subtle tradition of paying tribute to her late mother on Saturday Night Live this past weekend.
In an episode that highlighted moms with multiple Mother’s Day sketches, Rudolph used one of the show’s commercial bumpers to recreate a photograph of her own mom, soul singer Minnie Riperton.
Rudolph has made a point to honor mother, who passed away in 1979 when Rudolph was only 6 years old, each time she has hosted SNL. When she first hosted in 2012, Rudolph posed in overalls holding an ice cream cone as it dripped down her hand, matching the album cover of Riperton’s “Perfect Angel.“
In her 2021 episode, Rudolph was depicted against a blue background haloed by flowers, invoking the artwork of Riperton’s third album, “Adventures in Paradise.” Rudolph’s most recent bumper, again depicting Rudolph crowned by flowers, recreates another photo from that record’s artwork.
Maya Rudolph continues the tradition of honoring her mom Minnie Riperton when she hosts SNL by recreating her album covers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wMs3qOr4s3
— Saturday Night Network (@thesnlnetwork) May 12, 2024
SNL’s iconic bumpers are shot by Mary Ellen Matthews, who joined the show as its official photographer in 1999.
Side-by-side comparisons of Riperton and Rudolph’s photos were first shared on social media by our podcast partner, The Saturday Night Network.
