SNL Star Responds To Reactions To Major Cast Shakeups

As major shake-ups have been happening to the cast of Saturday Night Live, one star has responded to the reactions that the fans have been having. SNL has been on the air since 1975, coming live from New York every Saturday night to bring comedic skits that speak on pop culture with an ensemble cast and celebrity host. Its 51st season will premiere October 4.

This week, the exits of SNL stars Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner were all announced, which led to stunned reactions from fans of the show. Walker, the first cast member to announce that they would not be returning for the SNL season 51, responded to a tweet, “Yall acting like we died lol we just getting different jobs,” after a user wrote “Ohhh my boys – I wish you both nothing but the best.” referring Walker and Longfellow’s announcements.

Credit: NBC

Many fans are losing their minds as the cast members of SNL have started to announce that they will not be returning for the upcoming season. These cast departures come after SNL boss Lorne Michaels announced that many cast changes were going to be made before season 51, and that things would be shaken up.

Season 51 will definitely look different with so many of the ensemble cast members not returning, but SNL is no stranger to an ever-revolving cast. The ensemble cast is constantly changing, and season 51 will still have celebrity hosts, musical guests, and a great and hilarious ensemble cast to carry its skits as it always has.

The rest of the ensemble cast for season 51 has not yet revealed whether they will be returning, but it was announced by Michaels that the one cast member who will be returning for the season is James Austin Johnson, known for portraying Donald Trump on the show.

It is not a surprise to see so many cast members announcing that they will not be returning because of the warning that Michaels gave ahead of the season, although it is understandable why so many people would be taken aback if they were not aware of the news about the shakeup.

Walker’s response to the fans’ reactions was most likely to make light of the situation, as he probably did not expect so many people to be as taken aback by the announcements as they were. He also most likely wanted to let the fans know that it was not something that they needed to be upset over, as some of the cast announcements did not reveal whether it was their choice not to return.

It is normal for SNL to change its ensemble cast, so for Walker to respond to the reactions by saying that they are just getting another job is pretty much saying it’s not the end of the world. SNL season 51 will undoubtedly do extremely well, as will the cast members who announced they will not be returning for the season.

Saturday Night Live

8/10

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels

Directors

Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel

Writers

Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan