NEW YORK • The growing number of accounts of sexual misconduct by prominent men gave Saturday Night Live (SNL) plenty of topical grist over the weekend, but some of the accused came in for tougher treatment than others.

In this episode, hosted by Girls Trip star Tiffany Haddish and featuring musical guest Taylor Swift, there were plenty of haymakers thrown at Roy S. Moore, the embattled Republican Senate nominee in Alabama, who is accused of improper sexual and romantic conduct with teenagers.

But the show took only a couple of shots at comedian Louis C.K., who has hosted SNL as recently as April and who last week admitted to masturbating in front of several women.

A scattershot cold-opening sketch on the theme of sexual misconduct featured SNL cast members Mikey Day as Moore and Beck Bennett as Vice-President Mike Pence, who is trying to convince him to drop out of the Alabama Senate race.

Day protested: "The left-wing media loves to repeat these sexual harassment stories. There's a new one every day, Mike."

Bennett replied: "I know. Even I heard about Louis C.K. and I'm not allowed to watch TV, I'm only allowed to listen to it."

SNL cast member Kate McKinnon emerged from a cabinet in the role of Attorney-General Jeff Sessions. The sketch ended with her delivering a soliloquy to a stuffed possum she called Papa.

She said: "There's so many men out there, acting like monsters. Mr Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, the president. Daddy, has this been happening forever? Have I both fostered and benefited from a culture of systemic oppression? No? Well, that's a relief."

Haddish, who is the first black comedienne to host SNL, took on the topic of sexual harassment and offered some advice to male viewers.

"Fellas, I got a tip for y'all," she said. "I like to call it Tiffany's tip. It's a Tiff tip. Listen, fellas, listen, okay? If you got your thing-thing out and she got all her clothes on, you're wrong. You're in the wrong. Wait till she takes her own clothes off, then pull your thing-thing out, okay?"

NYTIMES