Saturday Night Live: Punkie Johnson Reveals Why She Left Series

Earlier this month, Punkie Johnson announced that she was leaving Saturday Night Live after four seasons on the sketch comedy series, departing ahead of SNL‘s landmark 50th season. Now, Johnson is opening about her departure, revealing that she opted to leave Saturday Night Live because she didn’t feel like she fit the series. During an appearance on the Fly on the Wall podcast (vial The Hollywood Reporter) with SNL alums Dana Carvey and David Spade, she explained that she almost left before Season 49 but was convinced by her team to stay.

“I talked to my team. I was like, ‘Look, I don’t really know if I belong at this job, so maybe I should step away,” Johnson said, explaining that they convinced her to stay, telling her, “‘You need a plan. You can’t just quit your job.’”

Johnson went on to explain that the first part of Season 49 ended up being very good for her with her getting three or four sketches in the first half as opposed to the two or three she usually got in an entire season, but things changed when her writer, Ben Silva, left SNL because he “just knew how to speak Punkie”.

“So, if I was telling him something, he knew how to put it in SNL format for me,” she said. “If I try to put it in SNL format, that’s the hard part.”

Johnson went on to explain that she just didn’t feel like she fit on the series generally and that SNL is for “a different type of person”.

“I didn’t really feel like I fit, like I didn’t feel like that was my zone,” she said. “That show is for a different type of person. I came from stand-up, so I just thought everybody else came from stand-up. I started having conversations with people and everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, we went to school for this,’ I’m like, y’all went to school to be here?’”

Johnson first joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2020 and announced her departure during a stand-up comedy show at Brooklyn’s Union Hall earlier this month. She later followed up with a social media post explaining that there was “no bad blood”.

“After four seasons, I will not be returning to SNL for the 50th,” Johnson wrote. “It’s no bad blood, it’s not bridges burned, it’s no hard feelings. Bro, I love my people! I didn’t think none of this was going to be a big deal.”

“SNL was a dream I didn’t even know I that I could achieve. I was a part of one of the most elite institutions in comedy, and I am so grateful for it. That’s still my people. I love them. I’m gonna be at the after parties acting a plumb fool! My time now has come to an end, and, um, Punkie outside now, y’all.”

Molly Kearny is Also Not Returning for Season 50

Johnson isn’t the only cast member who is not returning for Season 50 of Saturday Night Live. Molly Kearny also announced earlier this month that they are not coming back next season. Kearny is the first non-binary cast member in the show’s history.

“Y’all that’s a wrap on my time on SNL! Reflecting on the amazing 2 seasons I got on this show, it was such a dream come true. So incredibly grateful for this period in my life. So much love to all my big-hearted buddies behind the scenes who make the magic happen every week. So many bald caps, so little time. It was a true honor to work with such a talented group of writers and DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CAST. Special shout out to my day 1 crew @marcellohdz @internetdevon and @longfellow_michael. Head up and heart out! Harold forever!!!!!” Kearney captioned their social media post announcing their departure.

Season 50 of Saturday Night Live is set to premiere on September 28th.