The Real Reason Why These Stars Left SNL

writing had been on the wall for a while. In 2021, he opened up about the tough competition behind the scenes during an appearance on "Live Your Truth: An Honest Conversation with Charlamagne Tha God," saying, "As far as everyone else is concerned, it's a bloody cutthroat show. Everything "Everyone is trying to get on with it. Everyone wants to be next." Then in June 2021, she hinted at his impending departure, telling Gold Derby: "It's my seventh year and that's usually what the contract is for. I started there with acne and

left

with tattoos." After joining "Saturday Night Live" in 2017, Chris Redd stayed on the show for five years before leaving in 2022.

In an exit statement to Entertainment Weekly, he said: "Being a part of it." While five years is not one of the longest stretches of the program, it was a year longer than Redd had imagined. In an appearance on the "WTF Podcast with Marc Maron," he revealed that he had planned to leave early, as he always had mixed feelings about the show. "I was screaming 'four years' forever. I always loved that job as much as I hated it." He expanded on this in an interview with Gold Derby, saying: "It's my dream job and I had a lot of fun.

But no, man, I'm not going to sit here and say that, because I feel like that takes away from people who were

real

ly dreaming." with this when they were kids. After his departure from "SNL," Redd returned to his stand-up comedy with roots in his own HBO Max special, "Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?" When Cecily Strong appeared on her final episode of "SNL" in December 2022, she had been a cast member since 2012. During the show, Strong referenced her departure as recurring character Cathy Anne. During the weekend update, of course, her character announced that she would end her career in her segment because she would be sent to jail.

Still, it was clear that Strong was

real

ly talking about herself. and her time on "SNL." "I had a lot of fun here and feel very lucky to have been able to spend many of the best times of my life here." subsequent post on Instagram, reflecting on her decision to leave "I'm ready to leave, but I'll always know that home is here. I've had the time of my life working with the best people in the world." Strong also apologized for keeping the news a secret until the last minute, but offered a touching explanation, writing, "I'm sorry for being a bit silent about it publicly.

I didn't want the added pressure on something that was already so emotional for me." Fortunately, Strong's fans didn't have to wait long for her next project; In April 2023, it and the Keegan-Michael Key film musical parody series "Schmigadoon!" premiered its second season on Apple TV+. In September 2019, a "Saturday Night Live" press release announced three new hires, one of which was comedian Shane Gillis. Almost immediately after the announcement, journalist Seth Simon posted a video of Gillis taken from A backlash ensued, and "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels acted quickly: He fired Gillis before he appeared on the show, a spokesman said.

Michaels spokesperson in a. statement to CNN: "After speaking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL. We were not aware of his previous comments that have surfaced in recent days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We regret not have seen these clips before and our investigation process has not been up to our standards. Gillis responded in a since-deleted tweet, writing in part: "I'm a boundary-pushing comedian. I weird out sometimes." After the show's fifth season, all remaining members of the original "Saturday Night Live" cast

left

, along with creator Lorne Michaels.

This led NBC to hire a new producer, Jean Doumanian, and an entirely new cast. The result was a season that is generally considered one of the show's worst. One moment remains legendary, however, when cast member Charles Rocket dropped an F-bomb on live television: "Charlie, how do you feel after you got shot?" "I don't know, it's the first time I've been shot in my life. I'd like to know who the hell did it." By this time, ratings had plummeted and it became painfully clear to anyone watching that "SNL" had become an unmitigated disaster. Doumanian was fired after the incident.

Like several cast members, Doumanian unsurprisingly told The Hollywood Reporter that the network used the F-bomb as a convenient excuse "I just thought it was pretty unfair." In Hollywood following the infamous incident, appearing in films such as "Dances with Wolves" and "Dumb and Dumber", he was tragically found dead in a field near his home in 2005. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. . He was 56 years old.