‘SNL’ Star Speaks out After Exit From Show, Fan Outcry

Former Saturday Night Live star Melissa Villasenor thanked fans for their support after news broke that she is leaving the long-running NBC series. Villasenor, Alex Moffat, and Aristotle Athari are joining Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, and Pete Davidson in saying goodbye to Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center. Villasenor and Moffat both joined SNL in 2016, while Season 47 was Athari’s only year on the show.

After a couple of days of not directly addressing the reports, Villasenor confirmed she will not be returning for Season 48. “Oh my sweetie fans, my Melissa monsters, I know ‘thas sah’ me leaving the show, but! I felt this was my soul telling me its time to spread my wings,” the comedian said. “Lots more for me to dig in and discover. What an honor to experience my kid dream, what an honor. Forever grateful.”

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Later, Villasenor, 34, joked about what was up next for her. “People ask me ‘What’s next what’s next?!’ I’m like, ‘Chill man I am gonna be proud for a while, travel, enjoy life, do more volunteer work, spend time with my family, from there art blooms,’” Villasenor wrote.

Villasenor was a celebrity impressionist extraordinaire during her SNL run, playing Dolly Parton, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Lopez, Kathy Griffin, Lady Gaga, and many, many more. Outside of SNL, Villasenor has done extensive voice acting work. She voiced characters in Toy Story 4, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Family Guy, Adventure Time, F Is For Family, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, Summer Camp Island, and Amphibia. She plans to start a new standup tour in October, the same month her hilariously titled book, Whoops… I’m Awesome: A Workbook with Activities, Art, and Stories for Embracing Your Wonderfully Awesome Self Diary, hits stores.

Moffat and Athari have not commented on their departures from SNL yet. Moffat joined the same year Villasenor did and he became invaluable for his impressions of Eric Trump and his “Weekend Update” character, “The Guy Who Just Bought a Boat.” He also briefly played President Joe Biden between Jim Carrey and newcomer James Austin Johnson. Athari, who starred on HBO’s Silicon Valley, was given very few opportunities to break out, compared to fellow rookies Johnson and Sarah Sherman. His big standout moment came when he played the robot Laughingtosh 3000 during “Weekend Update” in November 2021.

SNL is guaranteed to look very different when the show returns this fall, with seven cast members leaving. Michael Che, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Johnson, Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, and Punkie Johnson remain on the roster as of now. Season 47 also featured digital shorts from the Please Don’t Destroy team of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy. NBC has not announced when the new season premieres.