Comedian Bowen Yang has publicly addressed his departure from the legendary sketch show Saturday Night Live, following a wave of unexpected exits from the programme's cast.
A Chaotic Cast Clear-Out
The 35-year-old performer's exit comes amidst what has been described as a chaotic 'bloodbath' for the NBC institution. Multiple cast members reportedly left the show without warning ahead of its 2025 season, creating significant upheaval behind the scenes.
Yang will make his final appearance on the programme this Saturday, in an episode hosted by his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, with music icon Cher serving as the musical guest.
A Heartfelt Instagram Farewell
The morning after news of his exit broke on Friday, Yang took to Instagram to confirm the move and share an emotional goodbye with the SNL family.
'I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people,' Yang wrote. He reflected on joining the show during a period when 'many things in the world started to seem futile,' but said working at 30 Rockefeller Plaza taught him 'the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile.'
'I’m grateful for every minute of my time there,' he continued. 'I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). I learned that human error can be nothing but correct. I learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst.'
Personal Thanks to Cast and Crew
Yang's post included an extensive list of personal thank-yous to writers, fellow cast members, and production staff. He specifically thanked a long list of colleagues including Celeste, Sudi, Will, Alison, and Julio, among many others.
'Thank you to every cast member for making me laugh and cry,' he added, also naming producers and crew members. He gave a special mention to the quick-change team: 'And to Audrey, Jameson, Cassandra and Chris for the fastest, funnest quick-changes in all of showbiz.'
Yang also expressed gratitude to host Ariana Grande 'for sending me off in the dreamiest way I could imagine.'
He concluded his message by thanking show creator Lorne Michaels 'for the job' and 'for the standard,' praising the show's ethos of making sure people in any room enjoy themselves. His final, characteristically witty note read: 'The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready, but s-iiiiit, I hope I am.'
