Saturday Night Live star Devon Walker has announced his departure from the show after three seasons.
The 34-year-old comedian joined the cast in 2022 after writing for the Netflix sitcom Big Mouth and parodied celebrities and politicians, such as Michael Strahan and Tim Scott, during his time on the NBC sketch show.
“Me and baby broke up,” Walker announced on Instagram Monday night.
“To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages. Some of ’em last for a long time, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not. That’s the deal. You know what it is when you sign up,” he wrote.
“Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But … we made the most of what it was, even amidst all the dysfunction. We made a f***ed up lil family.”
In a separate Instagram Story, Walker added: “Just to be clear, this is good news! It was just time for me to do something different. Please don’t be hitting me with the ‘I’m so sorry’ — we not on that at ALL. Sometimes mom and dad just don’t see things eye to eye.”
He was supported in the comments section of his original post by his SNL co-stars. Chloe Fineman wrote: “I’ll miss being your pregnant wife all the time!!!!!”
“I love you,” Heidi Gardner added while Ziwe Fumudoh commented with two love heart emojis.
The news comes after SNL boss Lorne Michaels promised a major shake-up ahead of Season 51, which is scheduled to premiere October 4.
Michaels told Puck he didn’t want any “disruptions” or “anything that was going to take the focus off” the 50th season, so he decided to keep the cast mostly the same. “And we had an election,” he added.
However, this season, he feels “the pressure to reinvent,” promising new cast members, including on the popular “Weekend Update” segment.
Also announcing their exit was SNL’s first out trans writer, Celeste Yim.
“I’m leaving my job at Saturday Night Live. Lorne hired me over the phone when I was 23 and the job literally made all of my dreams come true,” Yim posted to Instagram Sunday night.
Acknowledging the tumultuous and often stressful nature of the gig, Yim continued: “BUT it was also grueling and I slept in my office every week BUT my friends helped me with everything BUT I got yelled at by random famous men BUT some famous girls too BUT I loved it and I laughed every day and it’s where I grew up.”
They concluded: “I always felt honored to be working within the long tradition of queer writing at the show,” and though, “I feel so powerless to protect trans people in the world... writing connects us and makes us permanent, so it’s what I will continue to do.”
SNL returns to NBC on October 4 at 11:30 p.m.
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