\u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d star Devon Walker has opened up about his sudden exit from the show after only three seasons.<\/p>\n
The comedian, who called the popular sketch comedy \u201ctoxic as hell\u201d<\/a> upon announcing his departure last week, discussed why the series \u201cdoesn\u2019t need to be that way\u201d during an interview with Variety<\/a> published Wednesday, Sept. 3.<\/p>\n Michael Che and Devon Walker during Season 50 of \u201cSNL.\u201d Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Walker portraying NYC Mayor Eric Adams during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch. Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIf you read about the show, if you\u2019re knowledgeable about it at all, you can certainly pick up on things that are toxic about it,\u201d Walker, 34, began. \u201cThe show hasn\u2019t changed much in all the years they\u2019ve been doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are things that went down on the show that I wouldn\u2019t talk about for free,\u201d he added. \u201cThere are a lot of things I\u2019m still trying to find the right avenue to go into detail about.\u201d<\/p>\n After pausing and thinking about what \u201cSNL\u201d could \u201cbenefit from\u201d after 50 seasons, Walker argued that it could use a \u201cmeasure of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch on Oct. 1, 2022. Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Keenan Thompson and Walker during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch. Rosalind O’Connor\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cWhat ends up happening over the summer is oftentimes people are left hanging with big life decisions \u2013 people trying to start families or buy homes \u2013 and there\u2019s no word from the show about whether they have their job,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe show won\u2019t tell them all summer and then will ultimately end up firing them when there\u2019ve been months of them trying to work their situation out,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t my situation, but I\u2019ve known of situations where that\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Walker has not clarified whether he left \u201cSNL\u201d voluntarily or was axed<\/a> by creator Lorne Michaels, he asserted that the show could be more accommodating when it came to cutting main cast members loose.<\/p>\n Lorne Michaels attends \u201cSNL50: The Homecoming Concert\u201d at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Feb. 14, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n Lorne Michaels attends the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 18, 2023. Getty Images for PEN America<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s one thing I hope for the future of the show, it\u2019s that a sprinkle of humanity could be added into it,\u201d he shared. \u201cI understand it\u2019s show business and it\u2019s cutthroat, but people have lives, and people deserve to know the status of their job at a reasonable juncture.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMost people are told they\u2019re coming back to work in a week,\u201d Walker continued.<\/p>\n The comedian and actor, who was best known on \u201cSNL\u201d for impersonating NYC Mayor Eric Adams in several sketches, was the first star to announce his exit<\/a> shortly after Michaels, 80, teased a cast shakeup<\/a> ahead of the new season\u2019s premiere on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n Ego Nwodim and Walker during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch on May 17, 2025. Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Devon Walker as Michael Strahan during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch on Sept. 28, 2024. Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Taking to Instagram on Monday, Aug. 25, Walker compared \u201cSNL\u201d to a relationship and admitted that it could be unhealthy at times.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool,\u201d he wrote. \u201cSometimes it was toxic as hell. But we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f\u2013ked up lil family.\u201d<\/p>\n Three more stars left the beloved variety show in the following days, including newcomer Emil Wakem, Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner.<\/p>\n Emil Wakim appears at \u201cSNL50: The Homecoming Concert\u201d in New York City on Feb. 14, 2025. Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n Michael Longfellow during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch on Jan. 21, 2023. Will Heath\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the most terrifying, thrilling and rewarding experience<\/a> of my life, and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home,\u201d Wakim, 27, said Wednesday, Aug. 27.<\/p>\n \u201cWill not be returning for a 4th season at SNL,\u201d Longfellow, 31, added one day later<\/a>. \u201cWish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Longfellow, who joined as a featured player in 2022 before being promoted to the main cast last year, later detailed how he learned he was kicked off<\/a> the long-running sketch show<\/p>\n Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow during an \u201cSNL\u201d sketch on Jan. 25, 2025. Holland Rainwater\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Heidi Gardner at the 2025 Big Slick Party and Show in Kansas City on May 31, 2025. Stephen Lovekin\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Although The Post confirmed<\/a> Gardner\u2019s exit on Aug. 28 after a record-breaking eight seasons as the longest-tenured woman on the show, she has still not addressed the shocking news herself.<\/p>\n Elsewhere during his interview with Variety, Walker touched upon the disappointed fan reactions following the news of his exit \u2013 which he also spoke to on X last week.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate it, because if you\u2019re sad about it, that means I made something that meant something to you, which is what\u2019s most important to me,\u201d he told the outlet. \u201cI do this, first, because I enjoy it, and, second, because any artist hopes the things they make resonate with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Emil Wakim, Walker and Michael Longfellow at the American Museum of Natural History\u2019s Museum Gala in New York City on Dec. 5, 2024. Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n \u201cI respect people being sad, but I think the level of sadness feels a little silly,\u201d Walker added. \u201cI\u2019m still here. I\u2019m still going to make stuff. The show is, by its nature, a temporary job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe show is made to be left,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI left it, but I\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n