{"id":132802,"date":"2025-09-04T17:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132802\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T17:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:52:08","slug":"devon-walker-slams-snls-firing-process-people-are-left-hanging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/132802\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon Walker slams SNL’s firing process: ‘People are left hanging’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d alum Devon Walker is speaking candidly about the show\u2019s protocol for letting cast members go<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a measure of humanity that the show could benefit from. What ends up happening over the summer is oftentimes people are left hanging with big life decisions \u2014 people trying to start families or buy homes \u2014 and there\u2019s no word from the show about whether they have their job,\u201d Walker, 34, said during a Wednesday, Sept. 3, interview with Variety<\/a>. \u201cThe show won\u2019t tell them all summer and then will ultimately end up firing them when there\u2019s been months of them trying to work their situation out. That wasn\u2019t my situation, but I\u2019ve known of situations where that\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker announced last week that he won\u2019t be back for season 51<\/a> of \u201cSNL.\u201d In an Instagram statement<\/a>, he noted that the show could be \u201ctoxic as hell\u201d at times. He wouldn\u2019t go into specifics during his chat with Variety.<\/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 he said. \u201cThe show hasn\u2019t changed much in all the years they\u2019ve been doing it. There are things that went down on the show that I wouldn\u2019t talk about for free. There are a lot of things I\u2019m still trying to find the right avenue to go into detail about.\u201d<\/p>\n

NJ.com has reached out to NBC for comment. <\/p>\n

Walker joined the cast of \u201cSNL\u201d for season 48 in 2022. In the days after he announced his exit, it was confirmed that Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner <\/a>are also leaving the show. Wakim wrote via Instagram that it was \u201ca gut punch\u201d not being asked to return<\/a>, while Longfellow noted in a statement<\/a> that he wishes he was staying longer. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: \u2018SNL\u2019 alum falls 20 feet off ladder, can\u2019t walk for at least 3 months<\/a><\/p>\n

As for Walker, he told Variety that he has \u201cno qualms with the amount of time [he] did\u201d on \u201cSNL.\u201d However, he still thinks the sketch comedy show could handle cast departures better. <\/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. I 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 Walker said. \u201cMost people are told they\u2019re coming back to work in a week.\u201d <\/p>\n

As of this writing, it seems that Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline will all return for season 51 of \u201cSNL.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also five new cast members<\/a>: Veronika Slowikowska, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Ben Marshall.<\/p>\n

Season 51 of \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d premieres on NBC on Saturday, October 4. Past episodes are available to stream on Peacock<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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