Saturday Night Live had a surprise sendoff for Cecily Strong this weekend, and Austin Butler made sure she left in style. In a thinly-veiled sketch where Strong pretended to be leaving her job at RadioShack, Butler played an Elvis Presley impersonator hired by her co-workers to see her off. His carefully practiced impression had commenters in awe.
The sketch started with Strong and Kenan Thompson playing managers at a RadioShack store speaking to a crowd of employees. They cracked a few jokes together, clearly making analogies between Strong’s 11-year run on SNL and this fictional tenure in retail. Finally, Thompson’s character Frank Lasagna explained that he and Strong’s other co-workers had pooled their money to hire a “casual Elvis” impersonator.
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With that, the set dressing was whisked away to reveal a blue-lit background with a light Christmas theme. Butler kept his arm around Strong as he kicked off “Blue Christmas,” and after the first verse Strong joined in. She was visibly holding back tears, undoubtedly emotional over this bittersweet farewell.
In the end, Thompson rejoined Butler and Strong on stage, followed closely by more cast members who stood arm-in-arm singing “Blue Christmas.” The sketch ended with several tearful hugs and snowfall on stage.
Strong joined SNL in the fall of 2012 and quickly became a fan favorite. In her second year on the show she was the co-anchor of the “Weekend Update” segment – first alongside Seth Meyers and then alongside Colin Jost, but the next fall Michael Che replaced her in that role. According to a report by The New York Times, Strong requested this change, and it paid off for her. She became more popular than ever for her celebrity impressions and musical sketches.
Strong hit a major milestone in her SNL tenure this weekend aside from her departure. As of Dec. 17, Strong is officially the longest-tenured female cast member on the show. She exceeded her former co-star Kate McKinnon by one broadcast before departing.
It’s not clear exactly what comes next for Strong, but she has already proven she can work well outside of the SNL structure. She produces and co-stars in Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+, and a second season is reportedly in the works. After a well-earned holiday break, more news from Strong is undoubtedly on the way soon.
