4 ‘SNL’ Stars Who Were Fired or Leaving Ahead of Season 51

Ahead of Saturday Night Live’s 51^st season, Lorne Michaels has been delivering on his promise of a mass cast exodus.

As of Friday, the long-running variety sketch series has said goodbye to four stars.

More departures are on the way, and at this point, there’s no telling who will be next. SNL’s cast is a big one, and from the exits so far, it seems like no one is safe, whether they’ve been on for a season or more than a few. What is known is that Season 51 is going to look a lot different, and so far, the following four stars will no longer be at Studio 8H every week.

Devon Walker

Jumpstarting the exits was Devon Walker on Monday. The comedian shared on Instagram, “me and baby broke up.” He joined the series in Season 48 as a featured player and was promoted to repertory cast ahead of Season 50. In his post, he shared a statement titled, “wait..did he quit or did he get fired?” explaining the reason for his exit. He also admitted he was going to Japan, but when he comes back, he wants to try to be in a prestige drama.

“To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages,” he wrote. “Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is when you sign up. Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f—ed up lil family.”

Emil Wakim

Emil Wakim was the next to exit, announcing on Instagram on Wednesday that he “won’t be returning to SNL next year.” He only joined as a featured player for Season 50, but quickly became a fan-favorite, especially when it came to his takes and characters based in the Middle East. Wakim admitted it was a “gut punch of a call to get” but he was “so grateful for my time there.” He also admitted he got the call while at Six Flags celebrating a friend’s birthday and he “went on a really emotional walk through bugs bunny park and stared out across daffy duck lake thinking about life.”

“every time i scanned into the building i would think how insane it is to get to work there,” he continued. “it was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and i will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home. thank u to lorne for taking a chance on me and changing my life. i was so lucky to bring some of myself in there and say things i believed in and i’m excited for whatever chapter comes next. here’s to making more art without compromise.”

Michael Longfellow

Thursday brought a double-whammy for exits, starting with Michael Longfellow. The fan-favorite joined as a featured player in Season 48 and was promoted to repertory for Season 50. Many have been speculating and hoping that he’d take over as Weekend Update anchor when and if Colin Jost and Michael Che depart, and it was even recently reported that he screen-tested for it back in May. Unfortunately, Variety confirmed that Longfellow will not be returning for Season 51. He took to his Instagram after news broke to confirm himself that he won’t be returning for a fourth season.

“Wish I was but, so it goes. It was the best three years of my life so far,” Longfellow wrote. “I feel nothing but gratitude for the experience and everyone there. Lorne, you gave me the greatest job in the world and changed my life. You even put my mom on TV. Thank you doesnt begin to cover it, but thank you. I’ll miss it all, but I’ll miss the friends I made and seeing them everyday the most.”

Heidi Gardner

Thursday also had news that mainstay Heidi Gardner would be departing, according to Variety. She joined in Season 43 as a featured player and was promoted to repertory for Season 45. Throughout her time on the series, she’s had numerous memorable recurring characters, including Every Boxer’s Girlfriend from Every Movie About Boxing Ever and Bailey Gismert on Weekend Update. She went viral in 2024 after breaking character during a Beavis and Butt-Head sketch that saw Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day dressing like the animated characters.