Home » Heidi Gardner leaving ‘SNL’ after 8 years

Heidi Gardner leaving ‘SNL’ after 8 years

by Marko Florentino
0 comments



Heidi Gardner is leaving “Saturday Night Live.”

The comedian, 42, is the latest cast member to exit the show ahead of Season 51, The Post can confirm.

Travis Kelce carries Heidi Gardner on his back in an “SNL” sketch. Caro Scarimbolo/NBC via Getty Images
Gardner during the 2025 Big Slick Party and Show in Kansas City on May 31, 2025. Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

The news of her exit was first reported by Variety on Thursday.

Gardner was the longest-tenured current female cast member last season after joining the sketch comedy show during Season 43 before being promoted to the main cast in 2019.

Some of her most memorable “Weekend Update” characters include teen movie critic Bailey Gismert and Angel, “every boxer’s girlfriend from every movie about boxing ever.

One of her biggest moments last year was when she cracked as NewsNation host Bobbi More during a sketch of “Beavis and Butt-Head” that immediately went viral.

Punkie Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, host Jacob Elordi as Joshua, and Ego Nwodim during an “SNL” sketch on January 20, 2024. Will Heath/NBC
The cast of “SNL” saying goodnight alongside Kacey Musgraves, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell during Season 49. Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images

Gardner’s departure makes her the fourth comedian to exit the series this week, behind Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker, following Lorne Michaels’ promise of a massive cast shakeup.

The Post reached out to Gardner’s rep and “SNL” for comment.

As of recent years, the star has branched out from the comedy scene, starring alongside Harrison Ford and Jason Segel as Grace in “Shrinking” for Seasons 1 and 2.

Scarlett Johansson and the “SNL” cast during a Season 50 monologue. Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images
Heidi Gardner, Eddie Murphy, and Cecily Strong on “SNL” in a holiday baking competition sketch. Will Heath/NBC

She also appeared in an episode of Netflix’s “You” during its final season, the sitcom “Girls5eva” and Adam Sandler’s 2022 basketball movie “Hustle.”

Earlier this year, Gardner hinted at her possible exit while speaking to comedian Craig Ferguson on his podcast, “Joy.”

During the episode, she admitted that the job had become a “little tough.”

Gardner during the 2025 Big Slick Party and Show in Kansas City on May 31, 2025. Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Gardner and her fellow Season 50 cast members pose together for a classy “SNL” group photo. Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

“I will say the only thing that I’ve started to feel a little bit is just sketch fatigue, or idea fatigue,” the star explained. “At this point, after doing Groundlings and SNL for so long, I’m like, ‘I’ve written a lot of sketches.’”

Hours before Gardner’s departure, The Post confirmed that Michael Longfellow would also be leaving “SNL” after his three-year tenure on the show.

He joined the NBC sketch comedy program in 2022 for Season 48 before being upped to the main cast for Season 50.

Michael Longfellow’s “SNL” departure was revealed just hours before Gardner’s. Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

Like Gardner, the 31-year-old comedian has yet to confirm his departure himself.

Longfellow and Gardner’s former co-stars Devon Walker and Emil Wakim, meanwhile, confirmed their exits from the show earlier this week.

Walker, 34, announced his departure on Monday night after three seasons. Like Longfellow, he joined the cast as a featured player in 2022 and was promoted to the main cast in 2024.

Devon Walker attends “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City on February 16, 2025. WireImage

“Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool,” he wrote on Instagram on Monday night. “Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we … made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f–ked up lil family.”

Wakim, an “SNL” newcomer who was only on the show for a single season, said in his own Instagram post on Wednesday that being let go “was a gut punch of a call to get.”

“It was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life,” he added, “and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home.”

Emil Wakim attends the Lingua Franca fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 04, 2025. Getty Images

Writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker, too, have revealed their exits from the show.

Yim, who joined the “grueling” program five years ago, was the first to announce their departure over the weekend.

“After five seasons, I’m leaving my job at Saturday Night Live,” they wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

Lorne Michaels attends “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” in New York City on February 16, 2025. Getty Images

The surprising and ongoing “SNL” exodus kicked off shortly after Michaels hinted at the cast changes in an interview with Puck News published Friday, Aug. 22.

Michaels, 80, replied “yes” when asked if he plans to “shake things up” with a new cast.

“It’ll be announced in a week or so,” he added.





Source link

You may also like

Leave a Comment

NEWS CONEXION puts at your disposal the widest variety of global information with the main media and international information networks that publish all universal events: news, scientific, financial, technological, sports, academic, cultural, artistic, radio TV. In addition, civic citizen journalism, connections for social inclusion, international tourism, agriculture; and beyond what your imagination wants to know

RESIENT

FEATURED

                                                                                                                                                                        2024 Copyright All Right Reserved.  @markoflorentino