Lots of comedians have been fired from "Saturday
Night Live." But only one got almost the entire cast canned,
with a four-letter slip. Nasim Pedrad joined "Saturday Night Live"
at the start of the 2009 season, making "SNL" history as the first Iranian-born cast member,
and exited after five seasons. It didn't take her long to find work. Immediately after leaving the show in 2014,
she was cast in "Mulaney," a Fox sitcom created by and starring former "SNL" writer John Mulaney. During an appearance at the Television Critics
Association summer press tour that year, Pedrad explained her decision to quit "SNL." "Obviously there's nothing like that show
and I was lucky to be there for five years. At some point you have to leave, and I can't
think of a better reason to leave than for this particular show and this particular cast." Despite the talent involved, "Mulaney" was
trashed by TV critics and was canceled after one season. Pedrad, however, has remained a hot commodity
in television and film, appearing in Disney's live-action remake of "Aladdin,"
and starring in the quirky TV comedy "Chad," where she plays a 14-year-old boy. Taran Killam was hired by "SNL" in 2010. In 2016, his contract wasn't renewed. The actor told Uproxx that his firing came
as a surprise. "You sign for seven years, so I had one more
year. I had sort of had it in my head I would make
this upcoming year my last year, but then heard they weren't going to pick up my contract. I was never given a reason why, really." He later told the "I Was There Too" podcast
that the environment at "SNL" changed for the worse after the departure of Seth Meyers
in 2014. "When Seth Meyers left the show, the dynamic
changed quite a bit. He was the last person there who I witnessed
really collaborate with Lorne, as opposed to just kind of do what Lorne says." Since leaving, Killam has kept busy with several
film projects, including "Killing Gunther" which he wrote and directed, and which starred
the legendary Arnold Schwarzeneggar. He also starred in the ABC sitcom "Single
Parents," which ran from 2018 until 2020. The 2016 announcement of Taran Killam's firing
from "Saturday Night Live" was accompanied by that of Jay Pharoah, who, like Killam,
had been a cast member since 2010. A year after his firing, Pharoah spoke about
his exit from the show during a radio interview with Hot97. "You go where you're appreciated. [...] You have multiple people on the cast
saying things like, 'You're so talented and you're able and they don't use you, it's unfair
and it's making us feel bad because they don't use you and you're a talent.'" "They put people into boxes, and whatever
they want you to do, they expect you to do." Pharoah followed up his "SNL" stint by starring
in the Showtime comedy "White Famous," which ran for a single season in 2017. He's also voiced Kanye West on multiple episodes
of "Family Guy," and appeared on the celebrity-bartending competition "Barmageddon." Pharoah also made headlines in 2020 — not
for his acting work, but for being accosted by LAPD officers while out for a run, when
he was mistaken for a suspect and detained by having an officer handcuff him and kneel
on his neck. Luke Null's time on "Saturday Night Live"
was so fleeting that some viewers may not even remember him. Null joined the show at the start of the 2017
season, but was let go before the next one. During his single season, Null did have a
few standout moments, such as a sketch in which he played an obnoxious high school student
who disrupted class. In another, he portrayed an extreme heavy
metal fan who meets with a surgeon in hopes of getting his demon-style horns surgically
removed. Speaking with Vulture after his "SNL" exit,
he said, "I was only ever there one year. I had one season, and you definitely have
a lot of questions looking back: Did I do something wrong? Was I not writing good enough stuff? Honestly, looking back — knowing how the
show works, the mechanisms and the politics, and its energy — it's a very tense and stressful
place. No one there is 'having fun.'" Null also said that while it was tough to
break out in a cast packed with established performers, he felt he wasn't really given
much of a chance. "It was hard to leave and not think I didn't
get much of an at bat." Bobby Moynihan joined "Saturday Night Live"
in 2008, quickly becoming a fan favorite thanks to such popular characters as Drunk Uncle
and "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi. Moynihan left the show of his own accord in
2017, and immediately landed the lead role in CBS sitcom "Me, Myself & I." While promoting
the show at the 2017 edition of the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Moynihan
opened up about his decision to leave "SNL." "The day you get 'SNL,' you start worrying
about your exit from 'SNL,' that was always on my mind. [...] I was an acting major in college. I would like to show people I can play a grown
man instead of just dressing up like Rosie O'Donnell." "It's nice to not wear a diaper or dress like
a lady for a little bit. It's nice to actually play a human adult male
with real problems." "Me, Myself & I" wasn't the hit Moynihan had
hoped for, and was yanked off the air after just six low-rated episodes. Moynihan, however, landed on his feet. In addition to numerous TV guest spots and
voice roles, he subsequently became a series regular on the Ted Danson-starring NBC sitcom
"Mr. Mayor." Vanessa Bayer became a "Saturday Night Live"
standout during her seven-season stint on the show, beginning in 2010 and concluding
in 2017. That was largely due to her likable onscreen
persona and such characters as her hilariously heightened take on Jennifer Aniston's "Friends"
character, Rachel Green. She also featured in "SNL's" cult classic
line of fake Totino's commercials, where she just has to feed her hungry guys. "Aww. Fumble." "What's happening to my hungry guys?!" Bayer told The Hollywood Reporter that she
decided to leave the show for a simple reason: she just felt like she had been there long
enough. "It felt like it was time for me. I had seven seasons and just felt like it
was time for someone else to do that job." She also revealed that her favorite character
on the show was Jacob the bar mitzvah boy. "He feels the closest to my personality. The shyness and awkwardness is at the core
of me." As for how her fellow cast members responded
to her exit, Bayer told HuffPost, "I feel like everyone was supportive and 'we'll
miss you, but we understand.' It's a very hectic schedule so it's like,
after seven years, I want to take a nap." Bayer's post-"SNL" roles have included several
guest spots on sitcoms, including "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and NBC's "Will & Grace" revival. In addition, she headlined her own Showtime
comedy, "I Love That For You," which was loosely based on her experience as a survivor of childhood
leukemia. In August 2015, Sasheer Zamata was hired,
becoming the first Black woman to be a full-time cast member since Maya Rudolph left the show
in 2007. Zamata's hiring was seen as a response to
criticism that had long been leveled at "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels for the show's lack
of Black female cast members. Zamata wound up quitting the show after four
seasons. During a 2019 panel discussion hosted by New
York Magazine's The Cut, she explained that working on the show just wasn't what she had
expected. "So it was a couple years of figuring out,
'Am I okay with this?' Do I want to just accept it as is and be like,
'That's just a job and I guess I'll just stay and take it like everybody else?' Or do I want to try something else that makes
me feel really good and work with people who excite me and who are excited about me and
want to create things that make us feel fulfilled?" Since leaving "SNL," Zamata has appeared in
numerous TV shows, including "Woke" and "Home Economics." Beck Bennett was one of six actors hired for
the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 2013, and quickly established himself as the go-to
guy for quirky impressions, whether it was drunken Tom Brady or perpetually shirtless
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. During host Scarlett Johansson's 2019 monologue,
Bennett poked fun at the niche he'd carved out by jokingly lamenting, "You need me! Who's gonna play the dumb idiot?" In 2021, Bennett announced on Instagram that
he was leaving the show, writing, "Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people
and incredible experiences that completely changed my life." Speaking with Time, Bennett revealed that
he left the show because he wanted to focus on his family and his relationship with his
wife, Jessy Hodges. "It's been eight years of basically long distance
with my wife, and if we are going to start a family at any point, I think we have to
start that at some point soon." The couple didn't wait long before setting
that plan in action; in May 2022, Hodges announced via Instagram that they'd welcomed their first
child. Aidy Bryant's "SNL" journey began in 2012
and lasted a full decade. After her departure in 2022, Bryant discussed
her decision to leave during an interview with Variety, revealing that the pandemic
actually led her to stick around longer than she'd anticipated. "If it weren't for COVID, I probably would
have left a few years earlier. But it was such a huge change. When COVID hit, it was so jarring that we
were all like, 'I'm definitely going to come back next year.'" However, Bryant's commitment to her Hulu series
"Shrill," which she co-created and starred in, forced her to miss several episodes that
season. She said, "I kept trying to seek one last normal year. This year wasn't the normal year that I hoped
for, but it was closer to that. It was like, 'Okay, it's really time now.' And 10 felt like a nice, solid round number." "Shrill" also ended in 2021, but Bryant told
Variety that she isn't waiting around for the phone to ring, and is already working
on creating her next project. "I'm not comfortable waiting for roles because
I haven't had great success there. Everything that has worked for me has been
by writing it myself." Kate McKinnon was an "SNL" MVP during her
10-year run on the show, thanks to brilliant impressions of celebs ranging from Justin
Bieber to Hillary Clinton. During her stint, McKinnon had also established
herself as a sought-after actor outside the show, in films such as "Ghostbusters" and
"Office Christmas Party," even showcasing her dramatic chops portraying Carole Baskin
in the "Tiger King"-inspired TV series "Joe vs. Carole." Her decision to leave the show in 2022 didn't
come lightly. During an appearance on Live with Kelly and
Ryan, she explained, "I thought about it for a very long time,
and it was very, very hard because all I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on 'Saturday
Night Live,' and so I did. I loved it." "I had the best decade, and then I was just
like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time." Asked what she planned to do with her Saturday
nights, McKinnon admitted that it would probably be some time before she tuned in to watch
any new episodes. "I don't know what I will do. I don't know if I can watch the show yet,
because it's just too emo. Because I miss everyone so much." Joining "Saturday Night Live" in 2016, Melissa
Villaseñor quickly became a standout for her eye-popping array of celebrity impressions
— many of which she showcased in a single sketch that saw her nail impressions of Kristen
Wiig, Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Julia Louis–Dreyfus, Kathy Griffin, and even "SNL" co-star Kate
McKinnon. Her time on the show came to an end in 2022
after six seasons, and she revealed on Daily Beast's "The Last Laugh" podcast that she
made the decision to leave in large part because of her mental health. "Last season, I had a couple of panic attacks. I think it was just... I was struggling. I always felt like I was on the edge of a
cliff every week. And I was like, I don't want to be doing that
to myself anymore. And it's not like the show was mean toward
me or anyone. It was just how I handle things." After her "SNL" exit, Villaseñor branched
into new territory by releasing her first book, "Whoops... I'm Awesome." She told Entertainment Weekly, "I like telling people, 'It's a book for an
adult's inner child.'" When he joined the show in 2014, 20-year-old
Pete Davidson was one of the youngest-ever "Saturday Night Live" cast members. He quickly made a mark with his hilarious
Weekend Update appearances — as himself, but he eventually became a tabloid staple
thanks to a string of relationships with famous women including Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian. Thanks to his breakout status on the show,
Davidson also hit the big screen with roles in "The Suicide Squad" and a star turn in
"The King of Staten Island," the 2020 Judd Apatow-directed feature loosely based on Davidson's
real life as the son of a Staten Island firefighter who died on 9/11. In May 2022, Davidson announced via Instagram
that he was leaving "SNL," writing, "I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at 'SNL'
my life." The writing had been on the wall for a while,
though. In 2021, he got candid about the harsh competition
behind the scenes during an appearance on "Live Your Truth: An Honest Conversation With
Charlamagne Tha God," saying, "As far as everyone else, it's a cutthroat
f---ing show. Everyone's trying to get their s--- on. Everyone wants to be the next thing." Then in June 2021, he hinted at his looming
exit, telling Gold Derby, "It is my seventh year and that's what the
contract is usually for. I started there with acne and left with tattoos." After joining "Saturday Night Live" in 2017,
Chris Redd stayed on the show for five years before leaving in 2022. In an exit statement to Entertainment Weekly,
he said, "Being a part of 'SNL' has been the experience
of a lifetime." While five years is hardly one of the show's
lengthier stints, it was a year longer than Redd had envisioned. In an appearance on the "WTF Podcast with
Marc Maron," he revealed that he had planned to leave earlier, as he always had mixed feelings
about the show. "I was screaming 'four years' forever. [...] I always loved that job as much as I
hated the job." He expanded on this in an interview with Gold
Derby, saying, "It is dream work and I did have a lot of
fun. But nah, man, I'm not going to sit here and
be like [it was my dream] — because I feel like it takes away from the people who were
really dreaming about this when they were kids." Following his "SNL" departure, Redd returned
to his standup comedy roots with his own HBO Max special, "Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?" When Cecily Strong appeared in her final episode
of "SNL" in December 2022, she'd been a cast member since 2012. During the show, Strong referenced her departure
— as recurring character Cathy Anne. During Weekend Update, of course, the character
announced she was ending her run on the segment because she was being sent to jail. Still, it was clear that Strong was really
talking about herself and her time on "SNL." "I had a lot of fun here, and I feel really
lucky that I got to spend so many of the best moments of my life in this place." Strong shared a statement on her exit in a
subsequent Instagram post, reflecting on her decision to leave. "I am ready to go, but I'll always know home
is here. I've had the time of my life working with
the greatest people on earth." Strong also apologized for keeping the news
under wraps until the last minute, but offered a poignant explanation, writing, "I'm sorry I've been a little quiet about
it publicly. I didn't want the extra pressure on something
already so emotional for me." Thankfully, Strong's fans didn't have to wait
long for her next project; in April 2023, she and Keegan-Michael Key's movie musical
spoof series "Schmigadoon!" premiered its second season on Apple TV+. In September 2019, a "Saturday Night Live"
press release announced three new hires, one of whom was comedian Shane Gillis. Almost immediately after the announcement,
journalist Seth Simon posted a video of Gillis taken from a podcast on Twitter, in which
the comedian uses racially insensitive terms for Asian-Americans. Backlash ensued, and "SNL" executive producer
Lorne Michaels acted quickly — he axed Gillis before he ever appeared on the show. A spokesperson for Michaels said in a statement
to CNN, "After talking with Shane Gillis, we have
decided that he will not be joining SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that
have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful
and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips
earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard." Gillis responded in a since-deleted tweet,
writing in part, "I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss." After the show's fifth season, every remaining
member of the original "Saturday Night Live" cast left, along with creator Lorne Michaels. This led to NBC hiring a new producer, Jean
Doumanian, and a whole new cast. The result was a season that is generally
agreed to be one of the show's worst. Yet one moment remains legendary, when cast
member Charles Rocket dropped an F-bomb on live television. "Charlie how are you feeling after you've
been shot?" "I dunno man, its the first time I've been
shot in my life. I'd like to know who the f--- did it." By that point, ratings had nosedived, and
it had become painfully clear to anyone watching that "SNL" had become an unmitigated disaster. Doumanian was fired after the incident, as
were several members of the cast. Rocket, predictably, was among them. Doumanian told The Hollywood Reporter that
the network used the f-bomb as a convenient excuse. "I just thought it was quite unfair." While Rocket continued to work steadily in
Hollywood following the infamous incident, appearing in films like "Dances with Wolves"
and "Dumb and Dumber," he was tragically found dead in a field near his home in 2005. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. He was 56.
